I'll Follow You Anywhere A Marauders Love Story
by superchickrox3
Summary: Sirius Black is the "it" boy in school. Every girl wants to be with him and every guy wants to be him. But what can Sirius do when he's in love with the only girl he can't date? Follow along as the gang embarks on their final year at Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Someone Has A Crush On You**

"SIRIUS BLACK! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!" A voice screamed in my ear. I blinked open my eyes and saw next to me was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. She was also my best friend, Lora Clense.

She stood up on my bed and started jumping up and down, swishing her dark brown hair back and forth. She looked down at me and a sly smile came onto her face. With a flick of her wand, freezing cold water came pouring down on me. She laughed and started jumping even higher. I grabbed her ankle and she came crashing down on me. She felt warm on top of me, probably because I had no shirt on. She smiled to herself when she realized this.

She jumped off of me, much to my dissapointment. She went and jumped on top of James.

"Wake up, Jamie!" she sang to him while she pulled his glasses off the night stand and put them on James' face. She tickled his stomach but he just swatted her hands away.

"Fine but Lily is waiting for you downstairs," she lied to him. She winked at me and giggled as James shot up in bed.

"She is?" he asked jumping out of bed and knocking Lora onto the floor. She climbed into his bed and pulled the covers around her.

"Nope! I lied Jamie, she's still asleep!" she said loudly. She burst out into a fit of giggles as James stood there looking angry with one leg out of his pajama pants and his shirt slung over his shoulder.

He pulled back on his pajama pants and jumped onto his bed to tickle Lora but she had already rolled out of his bed and under it but he grabbed her ankle just in time. He pulled her back and tickled her so that tears streamed down her from her bright blue eyes.

He finally let her go so she could go wake up Remus. She tip-toed over to his bed and positioned herself over top of him.

She bent down so that she was right in front of his face, their lips almost touching. A pang of jealousy and anger shot through-out my whole body as I wished that she would lean in close to me sometime so I could kiss her.

She leaned in closer and yelled "GET UP MOONY!" he jumped up and fell out of bed.

Lora jumped from bed-to-bed until she came to my bed. She landed on me and put her knees on my shoulder's so I couldn't get up. She grabbed my brush and my hair and started brushing my hair. This was our morning routine. After this she'd run over to her dormitory and get dressed and run back over here and fall asleep in my bed waiting for me to get out of the shower. But I had a feeling this morning was different. She always did something different on the first day of the school year.

"Ouch, could you brush it any harder?" I asked her angrily but she knew I was just kidding. Once she was done brushing my hair, she pulled off her tank top that she wore to bed, exposing her in a black lacy-ish bra. I smirked but I couldn't help checking her out. I knew that my best friend was gorgeous but lately I had been feeling different feelings for her. _Do I love her?_ I asked myself.

She crawled over to my trunk and pulled out my dress shirt and she put it on. She crawled back over to me and layed down on top of me. She buried her head in my neck and yawned.

I wrapped my arms around her as she fell asleep. I could feel Remus' and James' eyes on me. Remus walked over and sat on James' bed.

"Why don't you just tell her?" Remus asked me with a small smile.

"Tell her what?" I asked them dumbly. I knew exactly what they were talking about but I would never admit it.

"Oh, come off it! Everyone except Lora knows you like her!" James said loudly. I just turned my head the other way and held on tighter to Lora. Her brown-almost-black hair felt silky on my bare skin.

I looked over at Remus' clock and saw that we still had three hours before breakfast started.

I looked down at Lora and watched her back go up and down as she breathed. Her bare legs were warm on mine. I stroked her hair as I watched my best friend sleep.

_This is wrong. She's your best mate. You can't fall in love with her!_ a voice inside of me yelled. I just tried to block the voice out and held on tighter to Lora.

"Mr. Black, I can't breath" she whispered to me. I let go of her and she took in a deep breath.

"I thought I was going to die from lack of oxygen, Sirius!" She punched me in my arm lightly.

"Bam!" she yelled as she pulled off my socks. She put them on her hands with a disgusted face and started a puppet show for me, Remus and James. She eventually took the off and flung them across the room at a sleeping Peter.

"Get up Petey!" She yelled at him. When he didn't move she ran over to him and with another flick of her wand, James flew across the room and landed on Peter. His eyes flew open and quickly landed on an upset James.

James got up and started chasing Lora. He tackled her to the ground and pinned her arms and legs down. He took a quick glance at Remus and then at me with a sly grin on his face.

"Hey Lora, want to hear a secret?" he asked Lora as she restled to get him off. Her whole body froze up. She loved secrets.

"Yea! Tell me a secret Jamie!" she said excitedly. Her eyes shined with anticipation.

"There is someone in this very room who has a crush on you," James said with a smug smile. His eyes darted up at Remus and then they found me. I was frozen in my bed. _James wouldn't tell her would he?_ I asked myself. I could feel the fear rising in me.

"Who Jamie? Please tell me! Who?" she asked excitedly. _She's so humble and modest!_ I thought to myself as I watched Lora pester James with these questions. I remember the day that Lora told me that she thought no boy would ever want to date her. I was so shocked that day. I mean, has she looked in the mirror? If the guys haven't already fallen for her personality then it's a matter of time before they fall for her looks. Everyday she get's prettier and prettier.

"I don't know if I can tell you Lor. You have to promise to keep it a secret. Plus, it'll cost ya" James said as he got off of her. She jumped to her feet and helped pull him up.

"c'mon Jamie! What do I have to do?" Lora moaned to the black haired boy in front of her.

"I want a kiss from you and Lily" James said. His grin grew bigger. He knew that Lily Evans would never kiss him... _but he could hope_.

Lora pulled him into a long kiss and ran out of the room to get Lily.

"WHAT'S YOUR BLOODY PROBLEM?!" I yelled at James. I could feel a wave of anger crashing down on me. The grin disappeared from James' face and was replaced with a shocked look. The same look was on Peter and Remus. I thought back to just a few seconds ago when Lora had kissed James and the anger rose inside of me.

"C'mon mate! I was never going to tell her! Plus we all know that Lily would never kiss me," he explained to me. I calmed down and sat down on my bed. I ran my hands through my hair and looked at a picture on my bedside table of Lora and me in our fifth year. That was two years ago, before any of this ever started. We were sitting out under the tree by the Black Lake and smiled to the camera. Then we turned to each other and laughed. I remember when Lily took that picture so she could remember everyone over the summer. She didn't have an owl back then so she couldn't really communicate with any of us.

I was snapped back to the present as I heard voices rising from the common room.

"C'MON LILY! PLEASE!" Lora's voice yelled.

"NO WAY WILL I KISS THAT PIG!" Lily yelled back. I could tell she was annoyed. I heard that tone every time she talked to me and James. But lately, her and James had started to get along more and more often.

"WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE, LOR?" Lily yelled.

"CAUSE NO ONE LIKES ME AND I WANT TO KNOW THE ONE PERSON THAT DOES!" Lora yelled. I could tell she was close to tears which just made me feel even worse. She was so modest! Guys turned to watch her everywhere! I've heard plenty of guys, even Slytherins, talking about what they wouldn't mind doing with her and every guy I have punched out.

Lily's voice was growing lower so I had to walk over to door and open it slightly to hear them.

"Lora, lot's of guys like you! Besides, why would you want to go out with one of the _Marauders_? I mean, ya, they make O.K friends but you can't really date one of them!" Lily said to Lora in a soothing voice. I looked out of the door and saw Lora stand there, her face was blank. She had tear streaks down her face and I could tell that she still wanted to know.

"I'll be in the library, Lils. See ya later" and then she left the common room, still dressed in shorts and my dress shirt.

I walked back over to James and Remus and Peter had now joined them on James' bed.

"Well, I hope your happy, James. She's gone off to the library crying!" I yelled at him.

I could see the guilt sink in and he blushed slightly.

"She'll figure it out sooner or later. And if she doesn't, Lily can tell her. I mean, the whole school can tell that you like her, Sirius!" Remus yelled at me but I wasn't listening. I jumped into the shower and fifteen minutes later I was on my way to the library. It wasn't long before I found Lora in the back table, reading a purple book.

"Hey Lor. What are you reading?" I asked her cautiously. Knowing her, it would be some weird book.

"I'm reading up on my super psychic powers!" she said excitedly. I glanced at her cautiously as I sat down.

"Um, Lor? Your not psychic" I said slowly.

"But this book will teach me how!" She said loudly. Madam Pince told us to be quiet and walked away, but now without giving me and Lora an evil look.

"Right, um, Lora, want to go for a walk with me? We only have an hour before Breakfast starts," I asked her. She nodded and got up from the table, leaving the book there and earning us a sharp stare from Madam Pince.

I noticed how she was shaking from how cold the castle was and I picked her up and carried her bridal style.

We walked out to the lake and sat down under the same tree that we sat down under two years ago. Everyone knew that this was the Marauders tree. But before anything else, it was me and Lora's tree. When her cat died, this was the tree where I comforted her. When it was her birthday, this was the tree where I gave her present from me. But more importantly, this was the tree where we met. I remember it perfectly...

_ I was walking across the grounds looking for James when I saw a beautiful girl with dark brown hair sitting under a tree. I walked over and said hello as I shook my hair around. She laughed and introduced herself. I sat down and we got to talking and from then on we became best mates_...

...But now, I wanted more than to be her best mate. I wanted to be her boyfriend. I wanted her to love me like I loved her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Torturing Snivellus and the Love Potion**

...But now, I wanted more than to be her best mate. I wanted to be her boyfriend. I wanted her to love me like I loved her.

-♥-

"So what's your first class of the day, mate?" Lora asked me as she spread out onto the warm green grass. I layed down next to her and turned my head so I was facing her.

"Um,I think it's Transfiguration,"I answered her.

"That's my first class too!" She said excitedly.

We talked about classes and how our summer went for another twenty minutes before we decided to go on back to the common room to get ready. We had a race to see who could get back to Gryffindor tower first. We were running down the hall when suddenly I realized she wasn't next to me anymore. I looked back and saw that Malfoy and croonies, Crabbe and Goyle, had captured Lora. Malfoy was pushing her against the wall trying to kiss her but she kept trying to wriggle out of his grip.

I ran over and punched Malfoy in his jaw. I heard a sickening crack and blood started to pour everywhere. He fell to ground clutching his jaw.

"NEVER EVER TOUCH HER AGAIN!" I yelled at Malfoy. I wanted so much to keep on punching him but Lora grabbed my hand and pulled me away. I picked her up and carried her on my back the rest of the way to Gryffindor tower. When we entered the common room, she went upstairs to take a shower. When she came back down, still in my dress shirt but she was wearing her school skirt under it, James and me were waiting for her. We walked to the Gryffindor table and sat down in our normal seats. James sat a little closer to Lily than necessary and she noticed this as he slipped his arm around her.

"Ew, you pig! Get off of me!" she yelled as she pushed him off and walked out of the Great Hall. Soon, Remus came over with Peter and they sat down near us. After that, Addie came and sat with us.

Lora had met Addie in third year and they had immediatly become friends. The group took a liking to her and she became part of the group after that. I noticed Remus staring at her out of the corner of my eye and I smirked.

_All of us are really growing up_ I thought to myself but then shook the thought out of my mind as I watched Lora and James throw bacon at each other.

After breakfast, we all walked to Transfiguration. James,Lora and I all had the same schedule. I sat in between Lora and James when we found a desk in the back of the room.

"Good Morning class and welcome to the first class of your last year. This year, you will be doing things like transforming each other and large objects around you..."McGonnagall said sternly to the class. I looked out the corner of my eye and saw Lora drawing a picture of a big black shaggy dog.

"Is that supposed to be me?" I asked her playfully. She nodded her head and smiled. Slowly, I wrapped my hands around her waist and started tickling her.

She started laughing and fell off her chair. Me and James burst into laughter and I helped her back onto the chair.

"Mr.Black,Mr.Potter and Ms.Clense! No more disruptions in class or I will move you all!" McGonnagall yelled angrily at us. Lora blushed and listened to McGonnagall drone on before returning to her picture. When she was done drawing me in my Animagus form, she started drawing a stag. She smiled as she started drawing Remus in his werewolf stage. She drew Peter as a rat and then she started drawing a smaller dark brown dog with bright blue eyes. That was her Animagus form but she rarely ever changed into it.

When the picture was done, she slid it into her bag. About twenty minutes later the bell rang and we all exited the classroom. We made our way back to the common room to do our Transfiguration homework (a two foot long essay on why it is dangerous to transform humans). After about five inches, we all gave up. Lora jumped up and climbed onto my back and sat up on my shoulders. I stood up and she grabbed onto my neck tightly.

"Onward march!" she yelled pointing to the door that let us exit the common room. James walked out of the common room with us.

"Where are we going Captain Lora?" I asked her. I noticed a sly smile form on James' face.

"Let's go torture Snivellus!" James said loudly. He knew Lora did not approve of us picking on Severus Snape.

"No! Listen to your Captain!" Lora said loudly as we ran down the hallway. She held on tighter to my neck so she wouldn't fall off. It wasn't long before we spotted the pale grease-bag.

"Leave him alone guys!" Lora whined to us.

"Sirius, it looks like your girlfriend has a little crush on Snivellus!" James said as he laughed and made his way towards Snape. Lora leaned forward and hit James hard on the back of the head. I blushed deeply.

_I wish she was my girlfriend_ I thought quietly as I followed James.

"I do NOT have a crush on Severus and I am not Sirius' girlfriend" Lora said annoyed.

"Ah, look who we have here Sirius! It's our dear friend Snivellus. Think you got enough grease in your hair, Snivy?" James asked him as he laughed.

"Leave him alone!" Lora said again. I could tell she was getting mad.

"James, I feel bad for the people that have to walk _behind_ Snivellus! They probably keep slipping in all that grease!" I said to James loudly. We were starting to attract a crowd.

"I feel bad for his poor mother. She has to look at his face all summer" James said back to me. The growing crowd around us snickered when he said that.

Lora jumped off of me and walked over to James. She pushed him hard in his chest so he stumbled and fell on his back.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE" she yelled angrily at him. I backed up a bit.

"Looks like someone has a little crush on our Slytherin friend," James said with a laugh.

_This is getting out of control_ I thought as I saw Lora get madder and madder.

"You know thats a lie, James" Lora said getting more and more upset by the second.

"Sirius, can't you control your girlfriend?" James asked as he looked at me. I could feel my whole face turn red. Lora gave James a mean look and ran off.

The crowd started walking away when they noticed that Severus had escaped from us.

"That was a bit much, don't you think?" I asked James as I helped him up.

"She had it coming" he said as he brushed himself off. We walked back to the Gryffindor common room in silence. I expected to see Lora when we entered but she was no where to be seen. Lily and Addie were sitting on the floor though.

"Have you guys seen Lora?" James asked them. They gave him a puzzled look and shook their heads.

"What happened?" Lily asked us. James and I exchanged glances and James told the story of what happened. When we were done Lily and Addie gave us angry looks.

"How could you say that to her?" Addie asked James angrily. James just blushed and walked to the boys dormitory. I sat down in an armchair and thought of where she may be.

The common room door opened and Lora walked in with a blank expression even though you could tell she had been crying. I ran over and pulled her into a hug. I saw Lily and Addie raise their eyebrows as Lily gave me a smug grin.

I ignored them and picked Lora up and her to the boys dormitory. I set her on my bed and she sighed to herself.

James walked out of the bathroom and froze when he saw Lora. I could see the guilt rising up in him as he walked over to us. He sat next to Lora on my bed and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry Lora. I was being a jerk" James said to her. I looked at Lora but her face stil had no emotion in it.

"Lor? Are you okay?" She nodded and pulled away from James. She grabbed my pillow and layed her head onto it and shut her eyes. James and I layed down on both sides of her. I rubbed her back as she lay there, falling asleep. I looked over at James.

'Tell Her' he mouthed to me. I shook my head and he rolled his eyes.

Eventually we got up and headed to our next class, which happened to be Potions. By that time we had forgotten the arguement and were laughing at each others jokes again.

When we got there, I sat down with Lora and James and Addie sat down on the other side of the table, facing us.

"Welcome to Potions everyone!" greeted Professor Slughorn. He lectured on about all of his achievments for another ten minutes before instructing us that we will be starting off the year making a love potion.

"So pick your partners everyone and get to work!" Slughorn said excitedly before walking around to praise his precious 'Slug Club'. When he told Addie that he had a feeling that she would be doing marvelous this year, she blushed a deep red.

"What about me, darling?" Lora asked batting her eyes. Slughorn gave her a disgusted look and walked away. We all burst out laughing the minute he left.

We agreed that James and Addie would be partners and Lora and me would be partners. The girls got to work on their potions while me and James started ours.

When we were all done, a puff of pink smoke came pouring out of the four cauldrons.

"The first love potions are done!" Slughorn said as he came over to our table. Lora batted her eyes a few times before turning back to me and James. We had to try our hardest to hold in our laughter.

"If the potions work right, you and your partner will be in love for the rest of class. If it doesn't, boils will produce all over your hands" Slughorn said excitedly.

Lora and I went first. We poured the potion into two cups and clanked them together.

"Cheers" we said in unison before swallowing the potion. It burned my throat going down. I saw Lora squeeze her eyes shut as it burned her throat also. She blinked open her eyes and looked at me a minute before she burst out giggling and started blushing. I saw James watching me. I could feel the heat rising in my face as I grabbed her hand. She stopped giggling and looked at me. I noticed that by this time, we had the whole classes attention.

I leaned in closer. I saw her eyes widen slightly as she leaned in too. We kept on moving closer until my lips met hers. It was the best feeling I had ever felt. This felt so right! It was like there was this spark between us. I knew that this wasn't the potion...this was love.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Disaster In Divination and Snogging**

I leaned in closer. I saw her eyes widen slightly as she leaned in too. We kept on moving closer until my lips met hers. It was the best feeling I had ever felt. This felt so right! It was like there was this spark between us. I knew that this wasn't the potion...this was love.

-♥-

I loved the feeling of her lips on mine. This moment in time was destroyed though by a heavy hand pushing hard on my shoulder and pulling Lora and I apart.

"Drink this" Professor Slughorn said to us as he thrust two cups at us. I looked down in mine. Inside was a thick black potion. It didn't even look edible. I glanced at Lora, she had a disgusted look on her face as she drank the potion.

I poured the cold black liquid into my throat and gagged at the taste. It tasted just as bad as it looked. I felt my head getting dizzy and the whole room blacked out. After a few seconds, my vision came back and I looked around me.

The class had moved their attention to James and Addie. James was looking at Addie with a lovesick grin and Addie was in tears because boils had started to form all over her hands.

I let my eyes stray to Lora. She was looking down at her desk in deep thought, still blushing bright red. I suddenly felt something warm in my hand and realized it was still Lora's hand.

"Sorry," I mumbled as I let her hand go. Her face got redder than Arthur Weasley's hair when she realized that I had still had her hand.

Moments later the bell rang and the class exited the room. James and I walked down the hallway in silence, both of us still embarrassed about what had happened in class.

"You should have seen yourself after you drank that potion, mate" James said as he laughed. I could feel my face blushing.

"Why?" I asked him, avoiding his glance.

"Cause your eyes got all big and then your face got red and you just started snogging her" James laughed even harder at this. Remus came up on the other side of me.

"Who was Padfoot snogging?" he asked curiously.

"Lora" James said, smiling slyly. Remus looked surprised and patted me on the back.

"Congradulations" he said with a grin.

"It was only cause we had to drink a love potion" I mumbled. I could feel James' and Remus' eyes on me. I felt my eyes wander over to someone walking in front of us a few feet. James noticed and smiled cockily.

"Hello Lora" he said with a smile.

She turned around and smiled.

"Hello boys. Still in love with Addie, James?" she asked with a smirk.

"No but do you plan on snogging Sirius some more later?" James asked, returning her smirk. Her face fell and she started blushing furiously. She rolled her eyes and walked down the hallway at a faster pace.

She groaned as James grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Come on, Lor. You know I was just joking. Come on, what class do you have next?" he asked her seriously. She pulled out her schedule and handed it to him.

"Ah, Divination next. That is what Sirius and I have but alas, I feel sick after drinking that vile potion so I will be spending this bell in the common room. I'll see you two later" James said as he let go of her arm. He and Remus gave me a wink and left off down the hall.

"Puh-lease. He just wants to skip Divination. Can't say I blame him. So did you see James when he drank the potion? And Addie was SO upset at him for screwing up the potion" Lora said to me laughing. We discussed this for a few more moments, avoiding the kiss, before we reached the stairs that led to the classroom.

We walked up the stairs cautiously. As we entered the room, the strong smell of musty perfume hit us. I started gagging and a look of pain formed on Lora's face. We covered our noses with our sleeves and made our way to the nearest beanbags. She slipped of her black cloak exposing her-_my_- white dress shirt and red and gold plaid skirt. She set her cloak on her bag next to my bean bag. I rolled up my sleeves and fanned myself with my Divination book.

"I'll be right back, I need some air" Lora whispered to me, breathing hard. I nodded and watched her make her way down the stairs and out of sight.

I felt a light hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw Claire Smith, the leader of one of my fan clubs. She had on so much make-up that she looked like a clown.

_Lora doesn't where make-up. She's naturally beautiful_ I thought to myself wishing Lora was here to save me right now.

"Hey Sirius" Claire said, trying to be seductive but she just sounded like a cat had been shoved down her throat. She leaned in closer, about to kiss me. I noticed Lora had walked in. I mouth 'help' and she walked over.

"Um, excuse me? Kate?" she said to Claire.

"It's Claire" she replied in an annoyed tone.

"Whatever. Your sitting in my seat _and_ your about to kiss my boyfriend so I suggest you move" Lora replied in an upset tone. I got butterflys in my stomach when I heard Lora call me her boyfriend.

_Maybe one day she'll mean it_ I thought to myself hopefully.

Claire glared at her a moment longer before stomping off to find one of her annoying friends.

"Thanks" I said to Lora as she regained her seat.

"No problem" Lora said shrugging. When the Professor came in, I closed my eyes. All the heat of the room and the perfumed smell was getting to me. I drifted to sleep, dreaming of how things would be if Lora really was my girlfriend.

"Mr.Black!" I heard a voice yell.

"Mmm, call me Sirius" I replied with a smile, dreaming it was Lora.

"Sirius!" I heard the voice yell, getting angrier.

"Yea, Lor?" I asked with my famous smile.

"Wake up!" the voice yelled. A hand started shaking me but I swatted it away.

"I am awake Lora" I said swatting the hands away again. Out of nowhere, freezing cold water came pouring down on me. I bolted up and blinked open my eyes.

I saw Lora trying her hardest to suppress her laughter. I blushed when I realized that it was the Professor yelling at me, not Lora. The rest of the class snickered as I mumbled a spell to dry myself off.

"Detention tonight Mr.Black. I will owl you with the details" said the Professor as she dismissed the class.

We laughed as I carried Lora on my back to the Great Hall. I let her down and we sat down side-by-side at the table. She piled food on her plate at started eating.

Lily looked at her with a disgusted face. "You are a pig Lora" she said as Lora finished off her banana. Lora stuck out her tongue and continued to eat, but at a slower pace and didn't eat as much as she normally would have.

"Don't listen to Lily" I whispered in Lora's ear. She smiled and threw a grape at me. I caught it in my mouth and ate it.

James walked in and plopped down in the seat in front of us.

"I heard how you fell asleep in class, Padfoot" he said laughing. I rolled my eyes and caught another grape in my mouth. Peter clapped as I swallowed it proudly.

"Hey check it out" Lora whispered pointing at the door. Lily,James,Peter and I turned our attention to the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Oh...my...Merlin" Lily whispered at the sight we were seeing.

Addie and Remus were snogging at the entrance to the Great Hall.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Detention**

"Oh...my...Merlin" Lily whispered at the sight we were seeing.

Addie and Remus were snogging at the entrance to the Great Hall.

-♥-

"Remus is snogging Addie!" Lora said loudly. Loudly enough for most of the Great Hall to turn and look at the two Gryffindors pull apart in embarrassment. They walked over to were we sat and started piling food on their plates.

"Did she work up an appetite for you Remus?" Lora asked, trying hard not to laugh. I smiled as Remus and Addie started to blush.

"Shut up Lora" Addie said throwing a peice of bread at Lora.

"Are you two dating?" Lily asked them. The blushed slightly darker as Remus nodded.

I glanced at Lora, picturing us out on a date. It wasn't hard to picture seeing as it wasn't the first time I had tried to picture it but it still seemed so far out of reach. Would I ever get to date Lora? We have been best friends for so long but was she as ready for something more as I was? _I hope so._

An owl swooping down and landing in my sandwhich interrupted my thoughts. I opened the letter attatched to it's leg and saw that I had detention tonight at eight.

"Ugh, I have to clean the Trophy's in the Trophy Room" I complained to the rest of the group. James laughed, knowing that cleaning trophies was my least favorite thing to do.

We all headed to the common room to relax after a long day of classes. I spread out on the couch and watched as Lora and James battled each other in a game of wizard chess. Lily was reading a book and Addie and Remus were whispering things to each other in the corner of the room. My gaze stayed on them for a moment longer, thinking how I wish I had what they had.

I looked over at Lora and saw her just in time to check mate James. She got up and ran around the common room doing her victory lap.

Eight'o'clock finally rolled around and I made way down to the Trophy Room. Filch was waiting for me at the door with a smirk on his ugly face, his cat relaxing at his feet.

"Here you go Mr.Black," he said, handing me a rag and soapy water. "You cannot leave until every last trophy is clean." He exited the room laughing as I stared in disgust at the dirty rag.

Three hours later, I had finished cleaning the trophies. My hand was red from scrubbing so hard and my knees and feet ached from standing and kneeling so much. I had a headache from concentrating so hard on cleaning and I was about to fall asleep right there, I was so tired.

I made my way to the Gryffindor common room and crawled up the stairs. The minute my head hit the pillow I fell asleep. I dreamt of Lora once again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: A Tiny Bed and Flirting In The Shower**

I made my way to the Gryffindor common room and crawled up the stairs. The minute my head hit the pillow I fell asleep. I dreamt of Lora once again.

-♥-

I felt something warm on my stomach. I opened my eyes and blinked a few times, adjusting to the sunlight. I looked down to see what was on my stomach and I couldn't help but smile when I saw Lora.

She had her pillow propped on my stomach and I suppose had slept like that all night. I pulled off the covers and saw her curled up into a ball, in her blue tanktop and black sweats. She reached for the blanket but I pulled it away so that she couldn't reach it.

"Wake up, Lor" I said softly, gently pushing her arm to wake her up.

"No!" she said sleepily, still reaching for the covers while trying to keep her eyes firmly shut so that she wouldn't be awakened by the bright sunshine streaming in through the window.

I couldn't help but laugh as she flung her arm around randomly, trying to find the blanket. After a few more minutes of this, I covered her with the blanket and climbed out from underneath the pillow. I laid down next to Lora and watched as she tried to drift back off to sleep.

"Ugh, Siri, you woke me up!" she said finally in a grumpy voice. She sat up in bed and stretched her arms out, while yawning.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked her, curious to see whether she was just in here to see me.

"Addie wouldn't shut up about Remus. Remus this, Remus that. Blah blah blah. Lily slept through it but I couldn't so I came in here" she said, pulling the blanket tight around her.

"James put a Silencing Spell on Remus so we wouldn't have to listen to him admire Addie" I said, watching Lora laugh as she laid back down next to me.

"So what would you like to do today?" she asked me, snuggling in closer to my chest. I shook my hair some, waiting for her answer.

"I do believe that we have classes today, Siri" she said in an all-knowing tone.

I rolled my eyes and said,"Why don't we just take a day off of classes?"

"We haven't even been here a month yet! Your already talking about ditching classes!"

"I'm bored with classes" I said sitting up. I watched Lora flop over on her back, only to fall onto the floor with a loud THUMP.

"Ughhhhhhh, why is your bed so tiny?" she asked me as she stood up and rubbed her back.

"Because it was made for one, genius" I said laughing.

"Well that's no fun" she said as she sat down on my bed, indian-style.

"So are we skipping today or what?" I asked her impatiently.

"no!" she said, standing up on my bed, arms crossed. I smiled a sly grin as I grabbed her quickly and flopped her over my shoulder.

"SIRIUS! LET ME DOWN!" she yelled, trying to kick her way out of my grip. Unfortunatly for her, I was much stronger.

I carried her over to the showers, where I turned on the water and dropped her in the shower. I leaned against the edge of the wall trying to avoid the water. I laughed as Lora tried to get up without slipping.

"Ugh! I'm all wet!" she yelled out me.

I laughed some more as I watched her get soaked in the shower. I started noticing things like how her shirt clung tightly to her, how it showed an inch or so of her stomach from where I had carried her. How her hair hung in curls on her shoulders.

She came over and grabbed my hand, which made my stomach get all fluttery. She pulled me into the water and pushed me on the floor.

"Haha, now Padfoot is all wet!" she said, giggling as she sat down next to me on the shower floor. We were both soaked.

I heard a door open and seconds later saw James walk past us with a towel.

"Will you two stop flirting in the shower and let me take one? I want to look and smell good for the day that Evans says yes to me" he said as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Then you'll never need to take a shower again, mate!" Lora said, laughing. James gave her an agitated glance and we both scurried out of the shower.

James took off his shirt and started running the hot water.

"O Jamie! You know I only like you as a friend! And such a bold move!" Lora said smiling while raising a hand to her eyes dramaticly. I smiled as I pulled her out of the bathroom.

"So will you skip with me or not?" I asked her impatiently.

"nope" she said as she skipped out of the boys dormitory. I stood there for a few more seconds, hoping she would return through that door. She didn't.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Goosebumps and a Kiss**

"So will you skip with me or not?" I asked her impatiently.

"nope" she said as she skipped out of the boys dormitory. I stood there for a few more seconds, hoping she would return through that door. She didn't.

-♥-

I jogged down the near empty hallway, hoping that I wouldn't miss what was left of breakfast. The cold air that came with winter rushed in through the archways to the courtyard and I silently cursed myself for not bringing my cloak. I could feel goosebumps rise on my arms but I didn't let that slow me down. A particularly short first-year stood in front of the Great Hall doors, chatting with an even shorter first-year.

"Get out of my way, you midget" I growled to them as I pushed my way through, into the near-empty room. I noticed a small crowd of people that I recognized though, one in particular.

"LORA!" I yelled as I made my way over to her. She looked at me over her shoulder and put on her coy little 'I-got-you' smile.

"We have been waiting all morning for you, Siri-poo. Where have you been?" she asked me sweetly. I heard James and Remus stifle a laugh.

"What did you do to me Lora? And why didn't any of you wake me up?" I asked, glaring at Prongs, Moony and Wormtail at that last part.

I thought back to last night and all I remember is Lora giving me some gross drink that was way too strong. I remember hearing James laughing on the couch as I made my way up to my bed.

"Why love, all I did was find out if I could make a proper sleeping potion. I suppose I can!" Lora took a bite of her toast and smiled at me.

"All of you can go eat troll dung for all I care" I said grumpily as I squeezed in between Lora and James.

"Ew, I don't want to eat Snape's poop" Remus said as Lora started laughing so hard that pumpkin juice sprayed out of her nose.

"Ugh, gross Lora!"

"Say it, don't spray it, babe" James said, not even looking up from his eggs.

"Hey, Remy, where's Addie?" Lora asked curiously as she looked around for her blonde friend.

"Library. She's doing some big extra credit paper."

"Ugh, why does she work so hard on extra credit?" James asked with a disgusted face.

"She wants to be a professor here one day. I don't see why. I'd kill myself if I had to teach a bunch of annoying kids" Remus replied, shaking his head.

"One day you'll be teaching me and Lily's kid, Remus. You're too much of a brainiac not to become a teacher" James said in a know-it-all manner.

"Pshh, Lily will never have a kid with you, James" Lora laughed at the very thought of Lily and James getting together. We all know it will never happen anyway, no matter how much James wants it too.

"A guy can wish can't he? Now let's go, we're going to be late for Minerva's class" James stood up, grabbed his bag and brushed himself off as we headed toward the large doors that I had just came through, minutes ago.

We were the last to enter the crowded classroom but as always, the classroom got quiet and all eyes were on us. We were famous around the Hogwarts halls for our looks, pranks, brains and witty attire.

We took our usual seats in the back of the room just as Minerva entered the room.

"Mommy!" Lora yelled. She had been yelling things like this for a few weeks now. When we saw Slughorn in the hallway she still yelled out 'baby!' and when we saw Dumbledore in the halls, Lora often yelled out 'Daddy!' The staff had just come to expect it by now.

"Ms.Clense, how many times do I have to remind you that I am not your mother?" McGonagall asked, still looking a little tired.

Lora looked like she was going to cry. "You don't love me anymore, Mommy?" McGonagall just sighed and turned to the chalkboard, writing down our instructions for the day.

"Who would love a mudblood like you?" Bellatrix asked viciously. I felt the goosebumps come back.

I don't hate everyone in my family. My cousin Andromeda is pretty cool and I know that my uncle Alpherd feels bad for me and is leaving me a large inheritance when he goes. But my mother and Bellatrix are two people that I especially hate. I often feel that if she had the chance, Bellatrix would kill me in a heartbeat.

"Why don't you just shut you face, Lestrange?" I snarled at her. No one messes with Lora. Especially when I'm around.

Names like 'mudblood' didn't bother her anymore. She was so used to it. She has spent the night at my house before and my parents threw these kinds of insults at her by the minute. But she just laughed it off. But I moved out of my parents house and into James' house so now we all have sleepovers there.

Bellatrix and I continued to throw around insults for a few more minutes until Minerva threated to take away house points and assign detentions. I figured it wasn't worth it. For the rest of the class we learned how to transform slugs into hats. When it was time to put our hats on our heads, Bellatrix's hat oozed slime.

The rest of the day was just one boring class after another. We didn't have DADA today so nothing was that much fun. By dinner we were all tired and sick of today.

As we made our way into the common room, we bid each good-nights. I gave Lora a hug good-night and she gave me hug and a soft kiss on the cheek.

As I climbed into bed, I couldn't help but think that today had turned into a great day...

a really great day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Gryffindor versus Slytherin**

As we made our way into the common room, we bid each other good-night. I gave Lora a hug good-night and she gave me hug and a soft kiss on the cheek.

As I climbed into bed, I couldn't help but think that today had turned into a great day…

a really great day.

-**♥**-

I awoke the last Saturday of November with the same nervous sensation passing through me that I get every morning before a game. I knew that today was the first Quidditch game of the season and even though I had been on the team since my third year, I still got really nervous. I knew James was getting the same feeling that I was because as I looked over at him, I saw that he looked like he was going to spew up his dinner all over his bed.

"You feeling okay, mate?" I asked him as I crawled out of my warm bed into the open icy air.

He sighed and said "Yep. I feel absolutely corking."

We went through this every year but this year was especially important because this would be the last chance we would have to win the Quidditch Cup. But there was more pressure on Prongs because he was the captain of the team _and_ he was the Seeker; if James screwed up and didn't catch the Snitch, then there was a small chance that we would win today's game.

A few freezing minutes later, I stepped into my scalding shower, relieved to be out of the chilly dormitory. As I squirted the slick, blue shampoo into my hand, I wondered if Lora was half as nervous as I was. We are both Beaters but I know that the Slytherin team picks on Lora because she looks like the weakest player on the team (which isn't necessarily true because that fourth year is way scrawnier). So the fact that we are facing off against Lucius and his idiot team must be making Lora pretty nervous right now.

I scrubbed myself over with the soap, washed off and stepped out into the steam-filled bathroom. I wrapped a towel around my waist and shook the water out my hair.

As I brushed my teeth I heard a loud knock on the door. Rolling my eyes, I ignored it, knowing it was probably James. He could hold on a minute though. But the knocking continued which just increased my frustration for the morning.

"Stop banging on the soddy door!" I yelled at the grand, wooden door. But to my annoyance the knocking did not cease.

"'old on!" I yelled with my mouth full of toothpaste and my toothbrush sticking out of my mouth.

The knocking just got harder and louder though.

"WHAT-DO-YOU-WANT," I screamed, throwing open the door. To my surprise I saw not James or Remus, but an embarrassed looking Lora. "Oh, sorry 'bout that…" I muttered, tossing my hair in front of my blushing face.

I suddenly remembered that I was wearing nothing but my towel around my waist and it seemed by her face reddening even worse that Lor had just noticed this.

"Was there something you wanted?" I asked quietly, still embarrassed.

"Um, Professor McGonagall wants to see the team before breakfast. She's in the common room," she replied meekly. As she hurried out of the boys dormitory, she looked back at me and I noticed her eyes linger on my bare chest and damp towel for a few split seconds before blushing once again and quickly adverting her eyes. I felt as if one of the Giant Squids tentacles had wrapped itself around my quickly beating heart and pulled hard, as if to drag it back into the watery depths of the Great Lake. I pushed this feeling away though and stepped back into the bathroom, quickly got dressed and made my way down to the red and gold common room where the rest of my team shivered on the plush couches.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Sirius-"

I raised my eyebrows and sat down in between a shaking Lora and a grave James, who was still in his pajamas. Lora, however, was in jeans, a sweater, a scarf and mittens. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and she leaned back to capture some of my escaping body heat.

I had never heard McGonagall call me by my first name so we quickly became still and listened to whatever she had to say.

"-As I was saying, I am encouraging you all to try especially hard this year. I would love to see the Quidditch Cup back in Gryffindors possession for the fifth year in a row. I must say that I also enjoy seeing the other House Heads envious of our House for winning but that is aside the point. I would just like to wish you all good luck and I know that you will make me proud out there today." She excused herself from the common room.

"Hold up team," James said, standing up out of the plush red couch. He looked around at our shivering team: the Beaters were of course, Lora and I; the three Chasers consisted of a blonde fifth year named Jill Liverstein (who I had briefly dated a year previous), a dark-skinned sixth year named Joshua Willows (who had a wicked arm when it came to throwing the Quaffle into the hoops) and a scrawny, blonde fourth year named Alexander Waddlestones; one Keeper who was a sandy-haired fifth year named Sean Brown (who could occasionally be extremely annoying).

"As all of you know, this is Lora's, Sirius', and my last year here so it will be the last year that we will be able to win the Cup. I know that you guys, and girls, will go out there and try your bloody hardest but just give it an extra shove this year. We all know that we have the best team in the school but lets just show the rest of them that don't that we mean serious business-" he cast an annoyed look at me and Lora who were in a fit of laughter at James' mention of _serious _business.

He sighed and waited patiently for us to finish. "-So let's just go out with a bang this year, eh? Good, now go get dressed and get a good breakfast. I don't want any of you passing out from hunger on the pitch. We've got a game to win!" He shot his fist up in the air on the last sentence and we all cheered with team spirit.

Some of the team, including Prongs, hurried back up to their dormitories to get showers and to get dressed so they could make it to breakfast. I walked with Lora down to the Great Hall though, my arm still wrapped around her shoulders. I could still feel her shaking through her seemingly endless layers of clothes. She sneezed into her arm and sniffled a little.

"Are you okay, Lor? Are you sick?" I asked her. I had noticed that she looked a tad pale when I sat next to her in the common room.

"I'm fine. Just got the sniffles, that's all," she said quietly. I dropped my arm from her shoulder when we entered the Great Hall and sat with Remus, Peter, Addie and Lily. She grabbed a slice or two of toast and rubbed some marmalade onto the toast. She took a small bite of this and then a large gulp of pumpkin juice.

"Hey Clense! Scared to get knocked off your broom today?" snarled Malfoy as the rest of the Slytherin table cheered at his question.

"Hey Malfoy, ready to see us win the Cup again?" I replied as the Gryffindor table roared with excitement and applause.

"This year will be different. We've got our secret weapons, but you'll just have to wait for the match to see what those are," he said, cockily. I could feel my skin crawl at his smug smirk and I turned back around and started scooping scrambled eggs onto my empty plate.

"What do you think it could be?" Addie asked nervously.

"He's probably just bluffing, trying to shake us up and get us nervous for the game," replied Remus casually, putting a protective arm around Addie.

I noticed though that he was looking rather pale. I remembered then that in three nights, there would be a full moon. Remus would transform into a werewolf again it would once again be James, Peter and my responsibility to make sure he didn't harm anyone and he got to the Shrieking Shack safely. It was always nerve-racking when that full moon came but we had not yet let him escape or harm anyone so I never dwell on it long.

I turned my attention instead to Lora and noticed that she wasn't looking to good. Her face was pale and all the laughter and sparkle had drained out of her blue eyes. She was nibbling away at her toast and muttering plays to herself. It was like this every year before the first game though. I would have thought that by now she wouldn't be that nervous. She had been on the team for four years now but she also knew that whatever happened out there, I would have her back. I've never let a Bludger hit her yet (though in the process of protecting her I have gotten some nasty bruises from the Bludgers myself).

A half hour later we were dressed in our Quidditch clothes and walking out onto the Quidditch pitch. We were drowned in a roar of applause from the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff houses. The Slytherins jarring could still be heard overtop of the cheers though. I ignored them though and continued on to the middle of the field.

Hooch asked the captains to shake hands. I saw James clench Lucius' hand and they both gave each other a death stare for a quick second. Then they quickly dropped their hand shake and mounted their brooms. Hooch blew her whistle and we were off.

I had missed the feeling of being up in the air. I loved the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair. I loved listening to the cheers below me and knowing that the whole school was looking up to me at that moment, wondering what I was going to do next. I spared a quick glance over to the Forbidden Forest and noticed the trees swaying gracefully in the wind. Even the Womping Willow, which had been planted the same year I arrived at Hogwarts, was swaying almost peacefully in the gentle breeze.

I only had a split second to enjoy this feeling and view because before I knew it, the Bludgers were released and one was going straight for Jill. I flew my broom over to her and hit the speeding, red ball with my club using all my might. It went soaring over to a particularly large Slytherin Chaser, which made them drop the Quaffle they were carrying.

"AND-WILLOWS-CATCHES-THE-QUAFFLE! IT'S-NOW-IN-GRYFFINDORS-POSSESSION! HE-TAKES-THE-BALL-TO-THE-HOOPS-AND-YES! HE-SCORES! THAT'S-60-POINTS-FOR-GRYFFINDOR-AND-ZERO-FOR-SLYTHERIN! THAT'S-WHAT-THOSE-SCUMBAGS-GET-FOR-AIMING-THE-BLUDGER-AT-LORA-"

"Mr. Thomas!" scolded McGonagall. I laughed softly to myself. Jacob Thomas got scolded every year. He was a fifth year in Gryffindor and each game he made listening to the commentary actually enjoyable and funny (though most of the time he got detention for calling the Slytherins-as McGonagall would say- inappropriate things).

I continued hitting Bludgers for some time when I noticed James diving in to catch a small, gold blur. I smiled to myself as I thought about how this year, winning the Cup was going to be a piece of cake.

But no sooner than the words came into my mind, a blur of silver, black and green whizzed down next to James. Lucius' hand was reached out, his fingers just inches away from the Snitch.

_How'd he get there so fast?_ I thought as I watched in awe with the rest of the school as the two rivals raced to win the game.

My eyes widened when I saw that Lucius was riding the latest model broom, the Shooting Star. It was supposed to be the fastest broom yet. I looked around and noticed that all of the Slytherins on the pitch were riding them.

_This must be what they meant by 'secret weapons'_ I thought bitterly as I saw James stretch his arm out even farther.

I watched as James noticed Lucius' new broom with a look of panic. The panic was quickly transformed into hard determination as he inched forward on his worn broom. His face was contorted into frustration and I knew that he was thinking of a possible way to catch the gold, whizzing, ball. I saw his hand inch forward some more until he was at the very tip of his broom. Slowly, he began to life himself up, as if he was going to-

"AND-POTTER-JUMPS-OFF-HIS-BROOM! HE-GRABS-THE-SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR-WINS! TAKE-THAT-YOU-DIRTY-SLYTHERIN-BAST-"

"MR. THOMAS! I SUGGEST THAT YOU DO _NOT_ FINISH THAT SENTENCE!" yelled McGonagall, but no one was paying attention. Everyone, except the Slytherins, was roaring with applause at James' spectacular win.

_James…oh sh-_

I watched with horror as my best mate with plummeting downward, the golden snitch in his hand. I put my broom into a nose-dive and flew as fast as I could, trying to catch him. I saw Lora flying down to but she was still a good two feet behind me. I pushed my broom harder and quickly grasped his hand, slowing him down. I flew my broom down and let go of him. I jumped off my broom quickly as Lora and the rest of my ecstatic landed.

"That was bloody amazing!" I yelled at James as we all grabbed him into a group hug. Joshua and Sean hoisted him on their shoulders and James shot his hand holding the snitch up into the air. This only made the students in the stands applaud even louder. The sound in the pitch was deafening and Gryffindors were pouring onto the field, giving us all a clap on the back and looking up in awe at Prongs.

I grabbed Lor and spun her around as we cheered. She let her arms fall around my neck as she laughed and when I set her back down she pulled me into a hug. When she let go, though, she pulled me into a quick kiss. I could feel that stubborn pulling at my heart again as I kissed her back. When she pulled away after a second or two, her face was bright red and I could feel my face reddening also.

I knew that the kiss was more of a "congrats" or a "good game!" kiss rather than the kiss I had been hoping to get for months now. But still, it was a kiss. I could feel a big smile form on my face as we made our way back to the Gryffindor tower, surrounded by fellow Gryffindors and my lovely Lora.

That night, the Gryffindor common room was in a state of complete chaos. James and I managed to get a load of Fizzing Whizbees and a load of safe fireworks. We let them off and the party soon began. Goblets of pumpkin juice littered every available space and people cheered and shouted out memorable points of the game as the cheering continued. Candy wrappers covered the floor and the celebrations continued until the wee hours. I found myself waking up in an armchair next to a sleeping Lora.

One arm was wrapped around her waist and another was resting on top of her head, which lay next to my chest. After a moment of looking around the crowded and quiet room (where Lily was in for a rude awakening when she saw that James had wrapped his arms around her and had burrowed his head into her neck; Remus and Addie were no where to be seen though), I leaned back against the armchair, closed my eyes and replayed the kiss over and over again until I drifted to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Lora Clense, The Roly-Poly Puppy, Is Breaking Hearts And Noses**

One arm was wrapped around her waist and another was resting on top of her head, which lay next to my chest. After a moment of looking around the crowded and quiet room (where Lily was in for a rude awakening when she saw that James had wrapped his arms around her and had burrowed his head into her neck; Remus and Addie were no where to be seen though), I leaned back against the armchair, closed my eyes and replayed the kiss over and over again until I drifted to sleep.

-8-

"GET-OFF-OF-ME-POTTER!"

Lily's enraged voice filled my ears as I blinked my eyes a few times to get adjusted to the sunlight. I could hear other Gryffindors moaning around the common room. They were obviously miffed that Evan's had woken them up from their peaceful victory sleep.

It happened in a flash; a mass of dark brown shot up and hit me directly in the nose. The sharp pain spread through out my whole head and I could feel my nose getting wet and sticky. I touched it gingerly with the hand that wasn't still tucked around Lor's waist and felt my own warm, red blood cascading down my face. I moaned with pain as I realized that my nose was unmistakably broken.

"Ow…what the bloody-" Lora began but she stopped in a heartbeat as she saw the blood trickling down my face. Her face turned instantly white as she backed off of my gently.

"Oh, I am _so_ sorry, Siri. It was an accident, I swear!"

"Bloody 'ell! What's wrong with your nose, mate?" James asked as he ignored Lily's ranting and strode over to me. He stepped over several people that had fallen back asleep on the plush, red floor and kneeled down against my seat.

"I 'ink it might 'e broken," I managed out as James and Lora prodded and poked my nose, in fascination. I could still feel the warm blood against my skin and the heavy pain that came along with it. I gripped the arm of the chair as another wave of intense and sharp pain came crashing down onto my face.

"Let me get him to the Hospital Wing," James told Lora as he hoisted me up with his arm. Once I clung onto the neck and opposite shoulder, he gripped his hand around me waist and walked me to our destination.

The stone hallways were bare except for a few passing ghosts and a professor here and there. Every once in a while I saw a student heading to or from the library (probably Ravenclaws. What other student in his right mind would get up this early on a Sunday morning just to go read a book?) I could feel the freezing December air coming in through the windows as I realized that today was the first day of December. When I hear December, there are always three things I think of: Christmas, winter break and mistletoe.

I must admit that my favorite of the three is the latter. And this year, I'm hoping to catch Lora under the mistletoe. I've tried before but it's hard to do without making it blatantly obvious. I know that Remus has told me countless times to just tell Lora that I like her but it's not as easy as he may think it is. She's my best mate; what am I supposed to do if she doesn't like me back? It will be the end of our friendship and I think that would hurt me more than twenty Cruciatus curses to the heart ever would.

But Christmas is definitely something to celebrate too. I got all the best presents as Christmas. I remember last year, James got me a gift certificate to the Quidditch shop in Diagon Alley, and when I went to go buy something, the England team was signing autographs there! So not only did I get a new beater's club, but I also got an autographed jersey. It was awesome! I just wonder how he's going to one-up that this year. I know that the present I got him is going to blow his mind.

As for winter break, it's one of my favorite times of year. Remus, Peter and I always head over to James' house for it (except this year Peter said he couldn't make it. When I asked him why he offered me some muffins and then ran out to the library). But we go over and spend the whole break there. Remus' parents don't mind because they always have to go to his aunt's house in Russia for Christmas and Remus hates going to his aunt's house so they just owl his presents on Christmas day. But Mrs. Potter always bakes us cookies to eat and she makes the best cookies. We'll go outside and have snowball fights and go ice-skating on the frozen lake behind James' backyard. But the best part of winter break is that it's not all emotional like summer break. You'll see everyone in two weeks so there's no need to get all upset over it.

I was snapped out of my winter haze and back to reality when I heard James curse as a ghost passed through us. A shiver ran down my spine and I felt like someone had pushed me into the currently freezing waters of the lake. I felt my teeth chatter against each other and I huddled in closer to James to steal some of his escaping body heat. The only good part about our trip down to the Hospital Wing is that Nearly-Headless Nick passing through us had dulled the pain in my nose some. Plus we get to see that hot new nurse, Madam Pomfrey. Watching her walk was one of my favorite things in the world. Though I would appreciate it if she didn't snap at us whenever we came.

"Oh Madame Pomfrey! Your two favorite boys are here!" James said as he walked me over to a bed. We both laughed silently as she walked out of her office, wrapping a robe around herself. We saw her roll her eyes when she us and this made out laughter die down a little.

"What's wrong with you now, Black?" she asked me in a pinched tone, as if it was _my_ fault for waking her up in the morning.

"My 'ose eez broken," I replied. She looked at and touched it carefully, which made me cringe and squirm around on the hospital bed. She walked over to the corner cabinets and pulled out a bucket and a small blue towel. She tapped her wand against the bucket and muttered a spell. As I she walked back over to us, I saw that she had filled the bucket with water.

"Clean the blood off of him, Potter. I'll be right back with the potion that will make your nose better, Black." She strode into a back room and shut the door behind her.

"Ew, Siri-poo, I have to clean your bloody face?" James asked me, using the one of the nicknames that Lora had made up for me. We both laughed as James dabbed away, cringing at the sight of the blood. Every once in a while he would dip the towel back in the bucket and the rub blood off of my face.

"Do you know 'ow many 'irls would kill to be in your spot 'ight now, James? So quit 'omplaining and start 'leaning off this 'andsome face o' mine," I directed James as we both laughed again.

"Oh Siri, let me just clean off your face! I would lick your face clean if you asked me to!" James said in a high-pitched voice, pretending to be one of our fangirls in the school. He ran his hand playfully through my hair and batted his eyes at me. The sight of James fake-flirting and pretending to be a girl made us both burst out into hysterics.

"Get off o' me you bloody wanker!" I yelled at him, while still laughing. We pushed each other around some until Madame Pomfrey walked back in. She gave us a stern look and we both fell into order, though poking each other hard in the thigh whenever she wasn't looking.

"Drink this up, Black," she said briskly. I looked down into the thick, bubbling orange potion and was instantly reminded of Pumpkin Juice. Though this looked nothing like the pumpkin juice I was used to. But the name would have suited this drink better. I squeezed my nose shut and downed the potion, feeling the burning hot liquid run down my throat and then to my nose. I growled in fury as my nose felt like it was on fire. After about five minutes of this infuriating pain, it subsided and disappeared.

"That was awful," I moaned as I reached a hand up to my nose and felt no pain this time.

"Well, what do you expect? You broke your nose. If you think it's going to be all rainbows and unicorns healing it, then you're wrong. You may go back to your common room now." She went back into her office and shut the door.

As James and I entered the common room, it was in a completely different state than it was when we left it. The place was nice and tidy and I guessed that the house elves had come while everyone was in their dorms, drifting back to sleep or taking warm showers. Remus saw us enter as he exited the boy's dorm, zipping up his grey jacket.

"Where have you two been all morning? You missed McGonagall's freak out when she saw everyone sleeping on the floor. It was hilarious," Remus said casually, laughing to himself at the thought of Minerva going berserk. He sat down on the edge of the very same armchair that I had just slept in last night.

"We had to go down to the Hospital Wing. Padfoot broke his nose," James said, giving me a playful push and then glancing the room for, what I assumed to be, Lily.

"How'd you break your nose?" Remus asked, furrowing his brow as he spoke.

"Lor woke up and smashed her head into my nose," I replied casually.

"Where was she sleeping?" Remus questioned.

"Armchair."

"Where were you sleeping?"

"Armchair." I muttered.

"The same armchair?" Remus asked, getting a coy smile on his face.

"Yes," I muttered as I threw myself down onto the sofa. I watched as Remus and James held a silent conversation with each other.

"What?" I asked them, somewhat nervously.

"Nothing…it's just that we saw you two kiss yesterday-"

"And now you two are sleeping with each other." Remus finished James' sentence.

"Lor always comes to sleep with me. It doesn't mean anything," I said to them briskly, with a tone stating that I didn't want to continue the conversation. They shrugged their shoulders to show that they understood and sat down in the armchairs. _It doesn't mean anything._ That sentence echoed through my head. Every time it bounced off a side of my brain, my heart would more and more.

"So where were you and Addie last night, Remus?" I asked, hoping to change the subject and shift the focus over to him. I watched him fiddle with his jacket zipper nervously and cough a bit to clear his throat.

"We went and slept upstairs in the boy's dormitory. Nothing happened," Remus said, more to himself than to us. He stared out the window as if in a trance.

"Hey, I was going to go and try to ask Lily out later. After that I'm going to go ice-skating on the lake with Lor and Sirius. You and Addie should come," James said to Remus, trying to break him from this daze he was in.

"I don't think Addie will want to come," Remus said sadly.

"Why not?" I asked. I knew it was something bad from the minute I heard Remus say that.

"We're over. She broke up with me last night," Remus said mournfully. I felt for the guy. I knew Addie had meant a lot to him.

"Why?" James asked curiously.

"When I told her that I love her, she didn't feel the same way and said that she wouldn't feel right if we kept on dating," Remus said, and I saw him push back tears.

"Eh, you could do better than Addie anyway," I said hoping to cheer him up.

"I just need a walk," he replied as he got up and left the common room.

James and I exchanged worried glances and I motioned for James to go with him. I watched him leave the common room behind our other friend and sighed. I looked around the now-empty common room and felt so alone. I got up and went to the boy's dorm to take a shower. When I entered the room though, I saw Lora crawled up in my bed, in a tight little circle. She reminded me somewhat of the little roly-poly's I poke and prod in my backyard when I was a kid. I remember them curling up into little balls whenever they were afraid.

Lora curled up in that little ball reminded me of a roly-poly, only Lora is gorgeous, and roly-poly's are hideous little creatures if you look at them close enough. I went over and laid down next to her on the warm mattress. I slid under the covers and sent my hand on her waist. She slowly relaxed and cuddled in closer to me. This also reminded me of a roly-poly. Once they became comfortable and trusting with someone or something, they would relax but if they were alarmed or scared, they would curl back up into their little ball. Lora was comfortable with me, so she wasn't afraid to be herself and stretch out.

"Sirius? Are you okay?" I looked down at her and saw that she had been glancing up at me the whole time. Her eyes were filled with guilt and worry and I immediately just felt the urge to pull her into a big hug. She reminded me sometimes of that lost dog that you would see wandering down Diagon Alley. It was always cute and adorable and just dying for someone. That's how Lora was. Not in a bad way, but sometimes she felt guilty for things that she shouldn't have to feel guilty for. I know her parents are going through a nasty divorce and I can see that she feels like it's her fault.

But like the stray dog, Lora's just looking for someone to care for her. I wanted to be that person. I wanted to take care of her, and protect her and make sure that she would never have to wander down Diagon Alley alone.

"I'm fine, Lor," I said with a reassuring smile. She gave me a small smile back and then slid in closer to me.

"I'm sorry for breaking your nose," she said sadly.

"It was an accident. Don't be sorry," I said, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze.

As I moved in closer to her, I wrapped my arms around her and made a silent promise to myself never to let her go.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Winter Break [pt.1**

As I moved in closer to her, I wrapped my arms around her and made a silent promise to myself never to let her go.

-9-

I ducked behind a tapestry as a red spell shot right past my ear. My back thudded against the cold, grey, stone wall and I let out a quick grunt of pain. The cold sent a shiver up my back, even though I was wearing my winter cloak and dragon skin gloves. I growled away the goose pimples and shot a full-body bind at my competitor from behind the frigid, red tapestry.

"You soddy wanker!" I shouted as the competitor knocked down the tapestry I had been crouching behind and charged at me. I ran out right as he was about to hit me, letting him crash into the cold stone. I rolled over and then crawled up to my feet and ran. I didn't stop until I hit the library. It seemed empty but I knew better.

I tiptoed, on edge, around the shelves of colorful and dense books. I heard a steady breathing coming from the aisle over and I held my wand out in front of me. I shook my hair out of my eyes and drew my cloak in closer so that it didn't make in noise, brushing against the dusty book shelves. I held my breath and went around the corner of the row, taking a brief pause before I looked around the bend. I saw-

Nothing. _what the-_

"Ahhh!" I heard someone shout at me as they jumped on my back. Dark brown hair fell in my eyes and I realized quickly that it wasn't mine. I moved my hand back and covered Lora's mouth quickly.

"Lor, it's just me!" I whispered quickly and she jumped off of my back quickly. I noticed that she was blushing as she whispered, "Sorry, I thought you were one of _them_."

I put my finger to her lips and made a mental note of how soft they were. I licked my lips greedily and grabbed her gentle hand. I quickly pulled her down underneath one of the many library tables. I crawled on top of her and locked my legs around her waist. I set my hand firmly over her open mouth. I leaned down next to her ear and tried to resist the urge to nuzzle against her warm and sweet smelling neck. I breathed in her scent and then whispered three little words in her ear…

"I hear them."

I heard foot steps fall gently against the plush carpeting in the icy library. I looked down at my divine Lora and a slow smile formed on her face. I returned the smile and lowered my head so that our noses were touching. If I had gone any farther in our lips would touch but I resisted the urge to do that.

"On the count of three…" I whispered softly.

"One…"

"Two…"

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" a deep voice shouted at us. I saw Lora's arms and legs stiffen up as I rolled off of her. I grabbed her, hoisted her up on my shoulder and ran.

"Expelliarmus!" I shouted and I heard someone grunt as their wand came flying into my hand. I laughed loudly and threw the wand in the hallway and then ran down the opposite corridor. I set Lor up against the wall and giggled as I muttered the counter curse. She shook her arms around and then grabbed my hand.

We went running down the hallway at full speed until I felt a sharp spell shoot into my back. I recognized it as a full-body bind curse, much like the one I just rescued Lora from. I moaned in frustration and immediately racked my brain for an idea. I grunted in pain as I hit the hard, cold ground with all my force.

I sighed deeply as I saw Lora getting shot in the back and watched as she tumbled to the floor in a full-body bind for the second time in less than an hour.

_What to do, what to do?_

"You bloody wanker! You'll pay for this!" I shouted at the person who had shot the spell at me. I listened as the _click-clack_ of their steps came my way.

"Oh, really? And how will I pay for this, Mr. Black?" an annoyed voice asked me. McGonagall muttered the counter curse, gripped my shoulder and pulled me to my feet. She didn't let go as she walked me over to Lora and did the same to her.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Lupin are already in my classroom. Why don't we go join them?" she asked as she marched us off down the corridor to her office. We entered the classroom and sat down at a desk in the front row. The four of us exchanged smirks as McGonagall sat down at her desk.

"This is not something to smirk at. I have told you all countless times not to play 'War' in this school. Just because you are the only ones here for Winter break and it is your last year, doesn't mean that you can run around this school, breaking into classrooms, shooting dangerous spells at each other! Why can't you all just act like normal children?"

We burst out into laughter at this last bit.

"Professor, we're bored! We're normally at James' house this time of year but they had to go visit James' grandmother and not all of us could go so the only other option was to stay here and there's nothing to do!" I moaned. McGonagall rolled her eyes and dismissed us. We made our way back to the common room, huddling together to keep warm.

"Oh, Remy, hold on tighter!" James shouted at Remus. We all laughed loudly as Remus shoved James away and then made his way to Lora to take some of her body heat. My heart gave a little jump as I saw him cling onto her arm and I suddenly felt the need to jump at him and just pound his face in with my fist. I shook away these feelings and raced James to the common room. I won.

We entered the common room, ran up to the boy's common room, grabbed the sheets and blankets and then raced back downstairs. We gathered in a circle and crawled underneath the blankets. Remus poked the fire until it was to our liking and soon enough, the whole common room was warm and homey.

"Oh man, did you see McGonagall's face when she caught us?" James laughed as we threw pillows at each other.

"Ah, today was so much fun! We should play war more often!" Remus said, throwing a gold pillow at Lor's head.

"Yep, Siri is such a good little spy!" she said, bashing the soft pillow into my head.

"Just call me Black, Sirius Black."

We laughed the rest of the evening. Along with having a full-on pillow war (James and I won), we built a fort out of the blankets, sang at the top of our lungs and tried to build a human pyramid. The latter wasn't the best idea. We ended up breaking the coffee table.

James then suggested that he and I go down to visit the house elves and get some snacks. When we departed the common room, leaving Remus and Lora in there, I noticed that it had grown dark while we were joking around. I guessed that it was around ten 'o'clock, meaning that we weren't supposed to be out. But that only made it more exciting.

We raced down the hallway, tickled the pear and entered the warm kitchen. Dozens of house elves were running around, cooking food but when they saw us, they stopped in their tracks.

"Master Potter! Master Black!"

"Let me get you some smores!"

"Hold on while I fetch cupcakes!"

"Would you like some cookies?"

I watched with joy as the house elves ran around, preparing sweets and cakes for us. They filled trays with delicious foods and brought it over to us. We stacked the trays, trying not to let any of the food fall in the process, and clambered out of the kitchen, repeating 'thank yous' on the way out.

While walking down the corridors, trying not to make any noise, we started talking about what we got people for Christmas.

"What'd you get Remus?" James asked me curiously.

"Some book about werewolves. I saw him looking at it on our last trip to Hogsmeade," I said, balancing the tray carefully, "you?"

"A big basket of chocolate. You know he's addicted to that stuff."

"What'd you get Lor?" I asked while looking down corridors incase professors were coming.

"That new Jumping Mermaids album. You?"

"You'll see," I said with a coy smile. I know that my present will easily beat out all of theirs.

"So are you going to tell her that you like her?" James asked, greedy for answers.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, trying to push the question away.

"Puh-lease, Padfoot! It's _so_ obvious that you like her! The only one that can't see is Lor!" James practically shouted at me, causing him to lose a few muffins on the top but we left them on the corridor floor and kept on walking.

"Whatever," I said as I told the Fat Lady the password and she swung open.

"We come bearing food!" I shouted as we entered the warm common room once again.

"Yay!" Lora yelled as she raced over and grabbed a handful of brownies from my tall pile of food.

The rest of the night, we just sat down around the fire, ate our snacks and gossiped. Lor told me all about how crazy the rest of the girls in the school were (beside's Lily and Addie).

A little less than an hour later, James, Remus and Lora had fallen asleep amongst the toasty sheets and blankets. I laid down next to Lor and gently set my arm around her waist. I nuzzled my head against her neck and let her soft snoring lull me to sleep.


	10. Chapter 9 Part 2

**Chapter 9: Winter Break [pt.2**

A little less than an hour later, James, Remus and Lora had fallen asleep amongst the toasty sheets and blankets. I laid down next to Lor and gently set my arm around her waist. I nuzzled my head against her neck and let her soft snoring lull me to sleep.

-9-

I awoke Christmas morning to the loud sounds of Lora's snores. Somewhere in the night, her hand had become tangled amidst my matted, shaggy hair. I shook her hand free and then glanced around the dark and chilly common room. I could barely make out the shape of a tree and what seemed to be a large pile of presents. Nudging Lor's shoulder and kicking James and Remus in the arse, I awoke my sleeping comrades.

After a few moments of waiting while Moony lit the candles in the room magically and Prongs poked at the dwindling fire until it roared back to life, we gathered around the tree to open our presents.

I tore open a small box wrapped in red and gold wrapping paper. It looked like the kind of box that you gave a girl jewelry in. I groped around until I found the small card for the gift on the floor. I peered inside of it curiously:

_Padfoot-_

_Enjoy your gift! Remember to share with your best friends! ___

_-Prongs_

Puzzled, I opened my present.

"BLOODY-" I yelled, interrupted by James.

"I knew you would like it! I had a little help from Mum and Dad financially of course, but still, it's cool right?" he said enthusiastically. I looked over and he was grinning from ear to ear.

Inside the small, fancy box were four Quidditch world cup tickets. I looked over at James, now lost for words.

"You can thank me by giving me a ticket," he said, now turning back to his own presents, still grinning and proud of himself. I threw him a ticket and he caught it without looking.

Dumbfounded, I followed suit and turned back to my own presents too. This Christmas was really the jackpot when it came to all of our presents. Of course there was that _amazing_ gift from James, but I also got a book on Muggle Motorcycles from Remus and a new Beaters club from Lora (I broke my old one in our last game against Ravenclaw; we won), though at the bottom of the box, she had also nestled in a silver picture frame. After watching it for a few moments, I noticed that every seven minutes the picture would change. Sometimes it showed us as second years, other times it showed us as sixth years. As time progressed, it would show us, in order, in all of the seven years we have been at Hogwarts. One thing was always the same in each picture though: it always showed me and Lor, arm in arm at our tree near the lake. I noticed at the bottom that it was inscribed with:

_Siri and Lor: Friends Forever_

I looked around the warm Gryffindor common room at my friends; James was fiddling around with a toy snitch that Lora had gotten him. Remus was already devouring some of the chocolates that I had gotten him. I turned my attention to my Lora and I saw that she was just sitting there staring at her presents in a sort of sad trance.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked her, nudging her shoulder gently. She just shook her head, as if to say not to worry about it.

"Wha's wong Wora?" Remus asked her with a mouth full of chocolate covered cherries. By this time all of us were looking to Lora to see what had made her so sad.

"It's no big deal; it's just that normally you get me a present for Christmas. But I don't need one, Siri. Like I said, it's no big deal." she said, saying the end of the last sentence in a haste. I couldn't help but let a smile break lose on my mouth as I realized what I had forgotten.

"Lor! I got you a present. I just forgot to get him. Hold on a minute," I said as I got up and ran over to the common room door. As I opened it, I heard James say to Remus and Lora, "who's he getting?"

I jogged down the empty and chilly hallways and saw in the windows to my left, the sun beginning to rise. The pink and orange tinges of color were beginning to overtake the darkness of the night blue and black. I saw undisturbed, pure, white snow all over the Hogwarts campus and smiled realizing how much fun it was going to be to go out there later with my friends.

I stopped when I reached the Transfiguration door and wrenched it open. I walked over to McGonagall's office door and knocked on the old oak loudly a few times. I was in mid-shiver when she opened the door with an annoyed look on her face. I had kept Lor's present here because I knew that Minerva and Lor were close. Lora would go and talk to Minerva about her parents divorce. I know that it's been hurting her a lot lately.

"_Please_ tell me that you are here to take that dog away. It has…_gone_ on my carpet twice now and both times I have had to clean it up!" She reached for something behind the door and pulled out a small, dark brown Yorkshire terrier. She briskly handed him over to me and I reached for him gently, stroking his back.

"'Ello, little dog. Ready to meet your mum?" I asked the dog as we walked out the room with Minerva scoffing behind us to shut the classroom door. We walked along, side by side, to the Gryffindor common room door. I said the password to a very grumpy and tired Fat Lady as I picked up Lor's present and stepped into the room.

"Ohhh Siri! Is he my present!?" she asked excitedly as she rushed over to me. When I nodded, she squealed and reached over to grab him from me. She cuddled the small dog in her arms and nestled him into her neck.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you Sirius!" she said as she leaned over to give me a hug. I pulled her in and rested my head on her shoulder for a moment, taking in the scent of her hair and consuming the warmth of her skin. The moment would have been perfect if it had not been for a rather…_pungent_ smell that had just come into the air. We all pulled apart and tried to get away from the smell.

"Ew Lora! You smell!" James yelled and we all burst into laughter.

She stomped her foot and declared, "it's not me! It's Mr. Stinky Butt over here!" she said, motioning towards her dog. Remus, James and I roared with laughter once again.

"It's not his fault! He's just a little gassy, that's all," Lor said, rubbing her dogs back and watching him wag his small tail. She set him down on the ground and we all gathered around him again, trying to ignore the awful smell that was emanating from his rear end.

"So are you planning on naming him Mr. Stinky Butt?" Remus asked, stifling a laugh.

"Hmmm, no. I'll name him Jack but his nickname can be Mr. Stinky Butt," she said giggling. We all laughed as the dog got and walked around, little noises coming from his bottom as he walked. We all laughed and pinched our noses shut.

"Can't you make him stop?" asked James while grinning.

"Nope! I like it anyway. Kind of smells like fruit, right?" she asked, looking around with a bright smile on her face.

"NO!" yelled Prongs, Moony and me. We all rolled on the floor laughing at that, while Jack pranced around us barking and shaking his tail.

"Ah, this is the best Christmas ever!" said Lora as she leaned into me and rested her head on my chest while Jack stepped onto my stomach.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Ruled By The Mistletoe**

"Ah, this is the best Christmas ever!" said Lora as she leaned into me and rested her head on my chest while Jack stepped onto my stomach.

-10-

"LILY!"

"LORA!"

I awoke once again on the common room floor to Lora and Lily shouting cheerfully at each other. I blinked open my eyes a few times to get adjusted to the bright sunlight that shown through the stone-arched windows. James, Remus, Lora and I had once again camped out in the plush, red and gold room.

Lor would complain that she got lonely in the girls dormitory all by herself. When we tried to convince her that we were really not that far away, she would make up tales about how an ancient ghost haunted the girl's dormitory. Each time we mentioned the room, her stories would get more and more elaborate and at the same time more and more far-fetched. Apparently the ghost-ette (who Lora explained was named Punky) had a grudge against Lora ever since she danced around in her Surly Cyclops (only one of the best bands ever) underwear. Lora then explained that Punky _hates_ the Surly Cyclops because she used to date one and then he killed her with his drum stick when she missed a show. So yes, Lora won't sleep in her room because a make believe ghost named Punky doesn't like her ninnies.

She tried sleeping in Peter's bed one night but that didn't last long. She complained that it smelled funny and that the sheets were damp about halfway down the bed. We stayed away from that side of the room after that. So then she decided to sleep in my bed, but I kicked her out when she kicked me off (according to Lor, she kicks in her sleep every fourth Monday of the month). She went to James bed but he kept grabbing at her arse (supposedly in his sleep) so she abandoned James' bed. After that she tried bunking with Remus but he freaked her out one night when he growled at her. And that's how we ended up in the common room.

"I've missed you Lily!" Lora said, rushing toward her red-headed friend. The embraced in a hug and then took another step back.

"I've missed you too, Lor. Christmas was a _total_ bust! Petunia brought her new boyfriend, Vernon, who looks like and acts like a troll. Ugh, if only she had some sense," said Lily, taking in a deep breath and then gagging all of the air back out and covering up her nose.

"What's that wretched smell!?" She asked, pinching her nose shut tight.

"Oh, that's just Jack and his cute little stinky butt!" Lor replied cheerfully while scooping the small dog up with one hand and cuddling him against her shoulder. She rubbed his back while Lily _aw_ed at the brown terrier.

"Lily, baby, I missed you!" James said as he rushed over to embrace her in a hug.

"Hey James" Lily said, surprising everyone in the room, even James. He stopped dead in his tracks with shock as Lily just rolled her eyes and took her luggage up to the (supposedly haunted) girls dormitory.

"So what are you doing back so soon, Evans?" I asked as she came back down the spiraling, metal staircase. She glanced over at me and let out a small smile.

"I got bored there and I missed everyone here," she replied as she sat down next to Lora in a red, velvet armchair near the crackling and warm fireplace. The flames inside danced around, as if chasing after each other. One ran after the other in chase, though the flame ahead of him would not slow down. Sadly enough, it reminded me somewhat of how my relationship was with Lora. If only she would slow down-

"Sirius! Stop staring at the fire!" She shouted at me from a few feet away. Everyone laughed as I threw a pillow at her head. She blocked it and it went tumbling quickly into the fireplace flames.

"Ohhhh! Minerva's going to be mad at you, Lor!" James shouted at her, still keeping a curious eye on Lily. I noticed her look over at him and give him a smile before turning back to Lora.

"Siri did it, not me!" she replied defiantly. Laughter echoed around the room as Jack pranced around in front of the fire. His shadow ran along the red carpeting and moved around swiftly. I glanced back at the pillow and saw it burnt and black, it's tassels and fabric reduced to ash in the scalding fire pit.

"Whatever, let's go play in the snow," I said, getting up from my comfortable seat on the plush floor against the arm of the sofa. Everyone followed suit and we all dismissed from the common room momentarily to go and get our winter robes, gloves, scarves and hats on. We all met up a few minutes later and I snatched up Jack as we exited the warm and inviting common.

The corridors were icy and bright with the winter sun's light. Our lone footsteps echoed through out the vast stone walls and rebounded off of the high ceilings above us. All of the people in the portraits on the walls were still asleep. The occasional snore would come from a picture at a random time and it was also echoed through out our long hall. The tapestries that hung on the walls would flutter softly when a gentle breeze would waft by. I felt Jack shiver in my arm and I murmured a spell to keep him warm when we went outside.

Our footsteps crunched against the hard, white snow as we emerged from the grey, stone walls of Hogwarts into its vast scenery of a campus. The trees of the Forbidden Forest were coated with a fresh layer of snow and the Womping Willow would shake violently whenever the occasional snowflake would fall upon one of its branches. A lone bird would sometimes come too close and the flutter away at the last minute, almost hit by one of the Willow's mighty branches.

The lake was completely iced over, as if a wind had come in the night and just stopped the lake in its tracks and then glazed it completely over. I had to cover my eyes with the back of my dragon-skin gloves to keep the reflection of the sun overhead that was hitting the frozen lake from hitting my eyes. I saw a shadow pass underneath of the untouched ice and guessed that it was just the Giant Squid swimming by the waters edge.

I inhaled the chilly air and felt it burn the back of my neck. I breathed out as I let Jack, who was struggling to get down, onto the deep snow. It was a few inches over his head but he trekked onward to a big hill of snow near the edge of the lake. We all followed him, laughing with each other along the way, and made our way towards the hill.

For the next few hours, we messed around in the snow. We had an intense snowball fight were it was me and James and Lor, Lily and Remus. After that, we rolled down the snow hill onto the ice and had a contest to see who was able to slide the farthest along the smooth and slick surface of the lake (Jack won). We then slid around the top of the lake as if we were ice-skating, only without ice skates. We built a few snowmen after that. Lily and Lora worked on building a snowman that looked like a girl dog so that Jack would have someone to flirt with. While they did that, James, Remus and I created a snowman that closely resembled Professor Slughorn when we were done. After making a few dozen snow angels and then rolling down the snow hill, we retired from our games and went inside to eat some lunch.

When we entered the Great Hall, James grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her under the grand archway of the open doors. We all stopped curiously to see what he was doing.

"Potter, what are you doing?" Lily asked, just as surprised as the rest of us.

"Look up," he replied with a mischievous grin on his face. We all glanced upwards toward the top of the archway and saw-

"Mistletoe?" Lily asked, surprised, but there was a hint of playfulness in her voice when she said it.

"Yep, and you know the rules of mistletoe, Lily. It means that you've got to-"

James was cut off by Lily, who kissed him passionately on the lips. We all inhaled a breath of shock and when she parted away from him, we were all speechless with surprise.

"Are we going to stand here gawking or are we going to sit down and eat whatever's left of the Christmas feast?" she asked us, with a hint of a smirk on her face. I exchanged surprised glances with Lora and walked over to James. Remus was already patting him on the back with a congratulations and I noticed a smile on James that I had never seen before.

We then walked over to the Gryffindor table and joined our lady friends (and Jack) to eat the remains of the feast.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Wishing For Bravery**

James was cut off by Lily, who kissed him passionately on the lips. We all inhaled a breath of shock and when she parted away from him, we were all speechless with surprise.

"Are we going to stand here gawking or are we going to sit down and eat whatever's left of the Christmas feast?" she asked us, with a hint of a smirk on her face. I exchanged surprised glances with Lora and walked over to James. Remus was already patting him on the back with a congratulations and I noticed a smile on James that I had never seen before.

We then walked over to the Gryffindor table and joined our lady friends (and Jack) to eat the remains of the feast.

-11-

"I can't believe it! I just can't believe that I kissed her!" James said loudly as he strode down the now-warmer corridor with Remus and me in tow. Lily and Lora had gone to help McGonnagall with grading some paperwork and we decided to explore the school a bit.

"I think it was Lily that kissed you, mate," I laughed as James hit me on the back of my head with his glove.

"I bet she was delusional when she did. I mean, Lily kissing James? It's about as likely as Sirius ever getting turned down by a girl," Remus joked.

"Oh," replied James. His high spirits had clearly been grounded by Remus' joke. I laughed as Remus had to reassure James that he was just kidding and that obviously Lily now had a thing for him.

"Are you going to ask her out now that you know she's feelin' you?" I asked James curiously. I knew that it wouldn't exactly be the first time he had asked out Lily but I was still curious as to what his plan on this was. I mean, you don't just kiss a girl and then not ask her out. _I kissed Lora but never asked her out…_ I silently cursed myself for thinking this and listened to James' reply.

"I think I will. I mean, I sent her a few owls while she was away for Christmas and she actually replied. She was cool in her letters too," he said casually. Remus and I exchanged shocked glances and started bombarding Prongs with questions.

"You _talked_ to her?"

"She actually replied!?"

"What'd you talk about?"

"Did you ask her out or something?"

"Did she tell you that she liked you?"

"What did you two talk about?"

James laughed at our questions and shook his head.

"We just talked about normal things. How our studies are going, professors, Winter Break, music, nothing major. We just talked," he turned a corner so that we would make our way back to the Gryffindor common room.

I tuned out Remus and James as we walked down the barren and gray hallways. _Look how old we're all getting,_ I thought to myself. I mean, I remember the day when James first told me that he had a thing for Lily. I remember the first time he ever asked her out and I remember being there and seeing her say no. He was crushed but he never gave up. He kept asking her and he kept showing how much he cared for her. Now look at them, Lily's kissed him and it's entirely possible that she'll say yes when he does ask her out this time.

_If only I had the same bravery as James. Then I could tell Lor how much I cared for her. What if she did want to date me? What if I have already lost my chance? She's probably already moved on and left all feelings that she could have ever had for me behind. In Lor's mind, I'm probably nothing but some guy that won't stop hanging around her. Or maybe I'm like a brother to her. I would hate it if I ever asked her out and she told me no because I was like a brother to her. I guess it's just better to keep my feelings to myself._

I hated myself for thinking that. I mean, I'm Sirius Black. I've never been turned down by a girl in my whole life. Yet, a simple crush on my best mate was twisting me all up and taking over my last year at Hogwarts. I'm supposed to be the poster boy for Gryffindor, the house of **bravery**, yet here I am, cowering back whenever I work up the nerve to tell some girl how I feel. _Not just some girl, the girl_. I hated myself for letting this get to me so badly. I want the old days back, where the only thing I thought about Lora was how good of a friend she was. Back then, my dreams every night weren't filled with telling her how I feel and watching us settle down together. Back then, I could talk to her without worrying that I sounded stupid. I didn't get jealous whenever I saw her talking to another guy. I didn't catch myself staring at her and wondering how someone could be that amazing and not even know it. I never went the extra mile to impress her and I never wished on every shooting star and every birthday candle that one day she would be mine. That I could say that she was my Lora and no one else's. Back then, I could still breathe and my heart rate was normal whenever I felt her hand brush by mine. Before these feelings came, she was never at the forefront of my mind all the time. I never used to snatch up every opportunity to hold her in my arms.

At the same time though, these feelings were the best thing that ever happened to me. It's like, everything was a big puzzle and those feelings I have for Lora are the missing piece that makes it complete. Lora makes me complete. I wake up every morning yenning to see her, hear her, feel her. Holding her in my arms just makes everything so clear. As if someone had screwed up my focus on the world but Lora was the trigger to making everything so simple and incredible again. Ever since these feelings came, I have noticed so much more about Lor than I had ever known before. I always knew that she was sweet, but lately, I had been seeing just how compassionate towards others she was. I see her vulnerable too, waiting for someone to come and take care of her. She's scared to graduate Hogwarts. I want to be the one to protect her, to keep her safe from all of the awful things going on outside of this stone haven that we are enclosed in.

I stepped up though the portrait door into the toasty and warm common room. The shadows from the fireplace danced off of the walls and furniture, making the entire red and gold room look as if it was enflamed in the fires that danced along across the room.

I saw Lora and Lily sitting on the floor in front of the burning embers, playing with Jack. I watched as they held a scarf up over his head and watched him jump for it. They would rub his stomach and pat him on the head if she managed to bite onto the jumping scarf. They would feed him snacks too, if he did a really good job.

"What are you two doing back so soon?" asked Remus, sitting down in the large, red velvet armchair next to the fireplace.

"Minerva didn't want Jack in her classroom for some reason, so we decided not to grade papers. She said she had other work to attend to anyway," replied Lora, glancing up at me with her stunning blue eyes. I couldn't help but melt on the inside as she gave me a smile that rivaled the warmth of the fireplace next to her. She patted the carpet next to her, urging me to sit down. I walked over and took my place next to her. I leaned back and balanced myself upon my elbows. Jack skipped over to me, licking my face and climbing onto my stomach. He stepped around a few times in a circle, to make himself comfortable, and then settled in and fell asleep on my abs. I didn't disturb him. Instead, I just let him stay were he was.

"Hey Lily, can I talk to you for a moment?" piped up James, who was still standing near the portrait door. I saw him wringing his hands, obviously a bit nervous for what he was about to ask Lily.

I watched Lily and Lora exchange glances. They seemed to be debating through their eye contact. Lily finally got up and followed James out of the common room, into the holiday-themed hallways.

We sat in silence, straining our eyes for any glimpse of the conversation that was taking place outside of our sitting room. Nothing penetrated through the walls though, so we were left wondering in silence whether or not James had gone through with it; and if he did, what was Lily's answer?

After what seemed like years of silence in our common room, the portrait door finally opened and James helped Lily step through. Her cheeks matched the color of her fiery hair. We turned to James and he had this stupid, goofy grin on his face.

"Well?" Remus mouthed to him as James walked past. I already had a pretty good feeling as to what the answer as but I watched in anticipation as he settled down on the floor next to Lily.

He gave us a quick nod and the rested his arm behind Lily. She gave him a some what coy smile and then giggled to Lora. I looked up and saw her roll her eyes. When I looked closer though, I saw a pang of what closely resembled sadness in her eyes also. My heart ached for Lora as I shook my hair in my face, leaned back on the soft carpeting and listened to my friends joke around, all the while still wishing that maybe one day, I could be as brave as him and ask out the girl of my dreams also.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Sweet Dreams Darling**

He gave us a quick nod and the rested his arm behind Lily. She gave him a some what coy smile and then giggled to Lora. I looked up and saw her roll her eyes. When I looked closer though, I saw a pang of what closely resembled sadness in her eyes also. My heart ached for Lora as I shook my hair in my face, leaned back on the soft carpeting and listened to my friends joke around, all the while still wishing that maybe one day, I could be as brave as him and ask out the girl of my dreams also.

-12-

"Yeah, so Lily and I are going to have our date at Hogsmeade on the next trip down there. I expect that we won't even make it through a meal at The Three Broomsticks though."

"Why not James?" asked Allisa, her eyes getting big with the hope that James doesn't really like Lily.

"Because she'll probably want to come back up to the castle to snog…or more. I mean, who wouldn't want to after looking at me all morning?" James asked, running his hand through his dark, black hair cockily. He smiled as all the girls sitting around us giggled and murmured to each other about how they wouldn't mind. I glanced at Remus and saw that he was laughing and shaking his head at how big James' ego had gotten since Lily said that she would go on a date with him.

That was two weeks ago, though. They decided that it was best to wait until the Hogsmeade trip. So for the past two weeks James' had been telling anyone with ears that Lily was going on a date with him. And I mean _anyone_: other students, teachers, portraits and I even caught him bragging to Jack about it. He would always be careful not to do it around Lily though. She walked in on him bragging about how excited Lily was when he asked her and she was **mad**. She even threatened to cancel the date which deflated James' ego for about twenty minutes…then he was at it again, bragging to the first years.

I glanced over at the door to the great hall and saw Lily and Lora pushing the door open. I grabbed an orange quickly and threw it hard at James' head. He looked at me angrily and I nodded toward the two girls coming our way.

"Hey James," Lily said with a sweet smile as she walked past us to sit down.

"Hey Lil'," James replied, running his hand through his hair.

"Why hello Sirius," Lora replied, blowing me an over exaggerated kiss and batting her eyes at me.

"Hello Lora, my love," I replied laughing as I blew her a kiss too. We laughed as Lily blushed a red deeper than that of which was on the Gryffindor flag overtop of us while James just stuck his tongue out at us.

I walked over and gave her a big hug from behind. She giggled as I twirled her hair around my finger. I took in the warm scent of her neck and I brushed against it with my lips. She laughed at something Remus had said but I wasn't paying attention now.

_This is your shot Sirius. Go for it!_ my mind screamed at me.

I smiled greedily as I grabbed her hand and whispered for her to come with me. Her eyes read suspicion but she followed me anyway. I heard James ask where we were off to so quickly as we exited through the large oak door.

"Where are you taking me?" Lora asked as she clutched her hand onto my waist and brought herself closer behind me. I don't remember when but we seemed to have switched positions, making me in the front now. She breathed the words into me ear, sending a pleasant shiver down my spine.

"Come on," I whispered back. The walls around us seemed to melt away; the stone gray fading into a warm maroon with gold patterns. We found ourselves in the Gryffindor common room and I rushed us upstairs to the boys dormitory.

I pushed Lora down on my bed and sat down next to her. Turning and setting my hand on her soft cheek, I worked up all of the might I had and leaned in for a kiss. I expected for her to turn me away and tell me no, but instead I found her warm lips embracing mine. I felt her smile through her kisses as I pushed her back so that she was lying down.

"Lor," I breathed into her as she clutched onto my chest. I felt her lips cup my ear and a gasp escaped from my lips.

I pulled away from her, brushing my hand across her hair as I pushed her head gently back onto my pillow. She blew me a small kiss and I could see that this time she meant it.

"Lor, I…I love you," I admitted to her, not holding back the smile that was forming on my face. She smiled as she looked up at me.

"Oh Sirius…Sirius…Sirius." She kept repeating my name. I shook my head for her to stop but she didn't.

"Don't you love me Lora?" I asked her pitifully. I began pleading with her and in front of my eyes, I watched our friendship crumble. Scenes played out in front of my eyes: Lora crying, pushing me away; sending her owls and never getting a reply. I began picturing the day when Lora got married. I was invited to the wedding, though only as a guest.

"Sirius…Sirius…Sirius!" she screamed out my name. I watched horrified as she pushed herself off of my bed. She turned and kept kicking my bed, screaming my name all the while.

"Please stop," I begged but she wouldn't. As I held back my threatening tears, I felt a sharp blow to my arse.

I opened my eyes and saw Lora laying down next me, laughing.

"IT'S-ABOUT-TIME!" she yelled as she got up and sat on top of my stomach. I looked up at her and recalled my dream.

She frowned as asked, "What's wrong Siri-kin's?"

"Nothing," I said glumly as I tried to sit up. She pushed me back down though.

"Did you have a bad dream?" she asked, eying me carefully. She could almost always tell when I was lying.

"Yeah," I answered her truthfully.

"What happened?" she asked my curiously. Her eyes got big, like a child about to hear their favorite bedtime story. I laughed as I answered her.

"Well, you and me started snogging and what not. Then I told you how _amazing_ you are and how much I loved you and then you got really mad and kicked my bed. Then we weren't friends anymore."

She giggled as she climbed off of my stomach and layed down next to me, grabbing onto my arm and wrapping it around her neck so that she was propped up and looking at me.

"Oh my, you were dreaming of me?" she asked while laughing.

"Yeah," I replied, laughing along with her.

"Oh goodness, well I had a dream about you too last night. We were flying around the Quidditch stadium, only you had no head so I had to take off my head and put it on yours. Then James was in the stadium and he was trying to kiss my Jack-y-poo. Then I fell, but you caught me-"

"And then James told the both of you to shut up because it's only," Prongs glanced over at the clock on his nightstand table, "two in the morning! I have to look good for my Lily tomorrow. I know it's hard to imagine me looking awful but I do need my beauty sleep too."

We smothered laughs as we pulled the curtains around my bed shut. She crawled under the blanket with me and leaned her arm out, in between the curtains. I heard her snap her fingers and in a few seconds, sure enough, the small pitter-patter of feet came scurrying into the room. I felt Jack's feet land on top of the bed and Lora picked him up carefully, cooing to him all the while, and laid him down on top of my chest. I rubbed his back as Lora nestled in close to me.

"Are you going to dream of me again?" she asked, sending me a small smile.

"If you're lucky," I replied, letting Jack walk down to the foot of the bed where he would be more comfortable. I turned and leaned in close to Lora.

"Well I'm a lucky person you know," she informed me. We laughed as she looked into my eyes and then flicked my in the stomach with her finger.

"Sweet dreams darling," she said in an over exaggerated tone. She batted her eyes and me and blew me a kiss as she drifted off to sleep in my arms.

"Good night darling," I whispered to her as I leaned into her and let my dreams take me in once again.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: A Blooming Romance and A Rose**

"Sweet dreams darling," she said in an over exaggerated tone. She batted her eyes and me and blew me a kiss as she drifted off to sleep in my arms.

"Good night darling," I whispered to her as I leaned into her and let my dreams take me in once again.

-13-

"What do I wear!? What do I wear!?" James yelled, jumping around the boy's dormitory, nothing but a towel wrapped around his waste. Whenever he turned, the water dripping from his hair flew onto the cold floor.

He turned hard as he flew past the fireplace and slipped onto the hard floor.

"Woah, mate! Keep that thing covered!" I yelled as I shielded my eyes. James covered himself up again with the towel and presumed asking what to wear.

"Make sure to wear boxers," Remus joked as he looked up from a book he was reading.

"Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about boxers!" He ran frantically over to his trunk and pulled out a pair of red and gold boxers.

"My lucky pair," James muttered to himself as he wriggled out of his towel, flashing his arse to us.

"Put that towel back on! No one wants to see your arse!" Remus yelled, covering his eyes with his book.

"Ahh, what else!?" James asked us.

I walked over and grabbed his hand, pulling him over to his bed. I sat him down and walked back to his trunk. I rummaged around to find a pair of jeans, a dress shirt and a jacket.

"Put these on," I said, thrusting them at James. When he was finished doing that, I handed him a pair of socks and shoes.

"And when you're done with that go brush your teeth and hair. And put on some deodorant too," I added.

"I can't believe that she's really going out with him. I thought it would never happen," Remus said to me, looking up from his book, as James brushed his teeth in the bathroom.

"I know! I can't believe that after all this time she finally said yes," I replied, sitting down on my bed.

"Next thing you know you and Lora will be dating. It's only a matter of time until that happens."

I stood just quiet for a moment, mouth gaping, somewhat shocked that he had just said that to me.

Oh, come now Sirius. We all know that you like Lora. Lora is the only one that doesn't know. You should just ask her out already."

I didn't say anything; I just turned my head and stared at the picture that Lor had given me for Christmas, watching the years go by. We sat there in silence for a few minutes and finally, I heard Remus turn the page of his book and I knew our little chat about my love life (or the love life I wish I had) was over.

_Maybe I could ask-_

The door of the bathroom flung open and a frantic James came running out. The comb was still in his hair and there was foam from his toothpaste surrounding his mouth.

"Oi, have you got rabies now or something?" I asked him, coming out of my Lora trance.

He ignored me as he ran over to his bedside table. On the way there, he tripped over Peter's show and fell into the bed post.

"Oh sh-" he said quickly, foam spilling out of his mouth, as he grabbed the clock on his table.

"What's wrong mate?" Remus asked him, marking his place and setting his book aside.

"I'm going to be late!" Prongs replied, spitting the toothpaste suds into the fireplace and wiping his mouth on his bed sheets. He rushed out of the dormitory and we heard him stumble down the stairs. I ventured after him, Remus at my heels. We emerged into the common room to find Lora and Lily waiting in there, whispering to one another in hushed tones.

Lily stood up abruptly when James came into the room and both stood frozen in their tracks, just staring at each other.

I nudged James with my elbow and motioned for him to say something.

"You look pretty," he said suddenly, blushing after he said it. I looked at Lily and she did look cute. Her hair was in curls and it shined against the sun coming in through the window. She was only wearing a pair of faded jeans and blouse and her winter jacket but she still looked sophisticated.

She blushed as she replied, "Thank you. You look good too."

"Are you, um, ready to go?" James asked her shyly.

Lily nodded and walked toward the portrait door with James. I watched them disappear behind it and then I walked over and sat down on the couch next to Lora.

"So do you two want to go down to Hogsmeade or something?" Lora asked us.

"I think I'll be spending the day in the library," Remus replied as he turned to leave out the common room door. Before he shut it completely though, he winked at me and motioned his head towards Lora, as if encouraging me to make a move.

"So are you up for a trip to Hogsmeade or are you going to ditch me too?" Lor asked, turning to face me. I noticed a glimmer of playfulness in her eyes and I couldn't help but let myself become captured by her warm smile.

"Yeah, let's go," I replied. I ran back up to the boy's dormitory for a moment to grab a jacket, a scarf and some gloves. We met back down in the common room and exited together through the portrait door.

"So how was James getting ready this morning?" Lora asked me as we walked in unison down the near deserted hallways. Every once in a while someone would pass by, glancing at us curiously as they passed.

"Uh, crazy. Like, forgot how to get dressed crazy. I saw more of James than I _ever_ wanted to see," I replied, laughing. "How was Lily?"

"She had about twelve mental breakdowns I think. Plus she tried to fake sick so that she wouldn't have to go," she answered.

"She doesn't want to go on a date with James?" I curiously asked. If that was how Lily felt than I should tell James. He's my mate; I don't want him to get hurt by a girl he cares so much about.

"It's not that. It's just…you and James date a lot of girls. I remember last year when you were dating a different girl every other day. So was James. I think that Lily just doesn't want to get her heart broken, which I can understand. I've seen a many girls cry from you breaking up with them, Black. I'd hate to go through the kind of pain that you've put them through whenever you get tired of them," Lora said, peering at me for a quick moment before glancing down at her feet.

"It's not like I mean to hurt them," I answered, feeling somewhat guilty.

"I know, I just think that you need to learn to find a girl that you won't want to break up with when you're finished snogging her."

"What about you? You never go on dates," I said to her, feeling a little bit defensive. She laughed softly when I said this to her.

"Just because I don't date everything with legs and a beat doesn't mean I don't date, Sirius. I prefer to find guys that I know I could see myself with. I, unlike you, prefer long-term relationships," she answered, looking straight at me.

"You're wrong. I would love a long-term relationship. I just need to find a girl that would want to have one with me first. By that I don't mean some girl that just wants me because she thinks I'm cute. I mean a girl that really wants me for my personality. A girl that I could really see myself with," I replied to her as we passed under the doorway, out into the biting wind. It cut across my cheeks and for a moment my breath was taken away.

"I guess we're in the same boat, Pad. Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, where has Peter been lately?" she asked, a mixture of curiosity and worry in her bright eyes.

"I'm not sure. He gets up early and says that he's going to go study in the library and whenever we offer to go with him he always says that he learns more when he goes alone. He doesn't come back until almost midnight," I said.

"That's a lie. Lily drags me to the library practically every day and I never see Peter in there. You know, I saw him chatting it up with Malfoy the other day," Lora informed me. I shook off the idea immediately and the topic was dropped. Peter would never hang around that group of idiots. He's a Gryffindor.

We walked in silence across the foot-trodden blanket of snow on the ground and walked toward the Three Broomsticks. Lora stopped in her tracks suddenly.

"Come on," I gestured for her to come into the warm pub with me.

"We can't, Siri! Lily and James are having their date in there! I don't want to intrude!" she replied stubbornly.

"Well I'm not going into the Hog's Head, that place gives me the creeps. I guess we could go into-"

I was cut off by Lora groaning at the idea of going into Madame Puddifoots.

"No! It's so frilly and pink and everyone is so kissy-kissy!" she moaned to me.

"Well it's either that or we starve out here and I'm hungry so let's go!" I grabbed her hand and led her into the small, fragrant café. We sat down at a small table next to the window when a large woman came waddling over to us.

"Oh, such a cute couple! What can I get the two of you?" she asked sweetly, though I heard Lora scowl across the table. I smothered a laugh because I knew that this was exactly the kind of place that Lora loathed. All this pink and lovey-dovey stuff wasn't her. That's one of the things I like about her.

"Oh, I think we would both like some warm cocoa please," I replied with a sweet smile. The woman nodded and went to fetch our drinks.

"You wanker," Lora said to me angrily. I laughed loudly, causing a few of the face-sucking couples around us to pull apart for a moment to look at us before presuming with their sport.

"I don't know how you fly around on a broom with that fat head on your shoulders," she said, shaking her head and laughing at me.

The woman returned at that moment with two bright pink coffee mugs, both of which were covered with hearts and kittens, filled to the brim with hot cocoa. The marshmallows inside were shaped like little hearts that would float around and form bigger hearts.

"Would you like to give your love here a rose, dear?" the woman asked me, handing me a rose.

"Why yes, thank you," I answered as she set the rose down in front of me and turned away. "Here you go, Lora love." I handed her the rose and blew a little kiss at her.

She grabbed the rose and swatted me on the head with it.

Lor laughed loudly when the hideous cherub on our table starting throwing confetti at us, which fell into our coffee mugs. I moved it to a different table and flicked the confetti in my cocoa at Lor. We played this little game, giggling all the while, until the stout woman returned to our table. By this time we had gathered much attention from the other couples in the café.

"I'm afraid I will have to ask the two of you to leave me café!" the owner said, grabbing our mugs from us and ushering us out the door. I grabbed Lor's rose before I exited.

"Your rose, my lady," I said royally, swooping down into a low bow before handing it to her.

"Oh, why thank you, kind sir," she responded curtseying and accepting the rose from me. I offered her my arm and as she took it, we headed back up to the grand Hogwarts castle.

"Oh, after you, dearest," I said to Lora, still in our royal characters, she curtseyed for the billionth time and entered into the Gryffindor common room.

"Oh my-"

"Lily? James?" I asked surprised at what lay before my eyes.

Prongs and Evan were snogging on the couch near the fireplace, looking quite cozy in each others arms.

"Sorry for interrupting!" Lor yelled as she grabbed my hand and dragged me upstairs into the boy's dormitory. We burst out laughing and collapsed together onto my bed.

We spent the rest of the night laughing and talking of many things: of our pasts, our futures, James and Lily, Jack, Slytherins, Quidditch and an assortment of other topics that I can't remember at this time.

Lora drifted to sleep next to me, her hands still clutched around the rose.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Making A Plan**

"Oh my-"

"Lily? James?" I asked surprised at what lay before my eyes.

Prongs and Evan were snogging on the couch near the fireplace, looking quite cozy in each others arms.

"Sorry for interrupting!" Lor yelled as she grabbed my hand and dragged me upstairs into the boy's dormitory. We burst out laughing and collapsed together onto my bed.

We spent the rest of the night laughing and talking of many things: of our pasts, our futures, James and Lily, Jack, Slytherins, Quidditch and an assortment of other topics that I can't remember at this time.

Lora drifted to sleep next to me, her hands still clutched around the rose. /center 

-14-

"Wake up! And get your effing feet off of my face!" I yelled at Lora, my voice somewhat muffled from Lora's heel that was over my mouth. She stirred a little but then drifted back to sleep. I slapped her thigh hard and she stirred again, this time waking up. She sat up groggily and moved her feet so that they were on both sides of my head.

"Hey," she said, sniffing a little bit. She grabbed the entire blanket, which was wrapped around me, and pulled it towards her, exposing me to the sharp cold of dormitory. She wrapped it around herself and walked over to Remus. She pulled the blanket off of him and wrapped it around herself and then tried to run quickly over to James' bed. I saw her pull his blanket off and wrap it around her expanding blanket body and she quickly went over to get Peter's blanket also. The other guys were now waking up, cold and wondering what happened to their sheets. Lor looked triple her size as she waddled quickly over to the dorm door and wrenched it open from beneath her layers.

"I want my blankets back Lora!" James shouted as he jumped up from his bed and ran out the door after Lor.

I looked over at Remus and saw him shaking his head and laughing to himself. Peter walked over and sat down on the edge of my bed, shivering as he did so.

"Sirius, tell your girlfriend not to steal my sheets anymore," Remus said, looking up at my with a coy grin plastered across his pale face. His blonde hair hung limp in front of his eyes but I still saw him daring me to say he's wrong. I took his challenge.

"She's not my girlfriend. You know that," I replied, my voice monotone with the fear that I would expose my true feelings for Lora to Remus.

"Ha, you wish she was though," Remus replied, eying me carefully for any sign that showed my feelings. I kept my composure though and just shook my head. I knew Peter was watching us both intensely with his watery blue eyes.

I was growing mad and I didn't want to make a big deal in front of Peter so I grabbed Remus' arm and pulled him into the bathroom, away from Peter's wandering eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I growled at him, anger pounding in my chest with every passing second. Remus just smirked at me and let out a small laugh though.

"All I want is for you to admit that you want to date Lora," he answered simply.

"Why? Why would you want to hear that?" I replied, confusion and anger now intertwining around my fast-beating heart.

"Just for you to admit it. I'm sick of seeing you stare at her Sirius. Do something about it. Don't just be that pathetic guy that always wishes for the girl that he thinks he could never have. You could easily have Lora, Sirius. You two are made for each other. I just wish that you would stop being such a sap long enough to see that. Get her, Sirius, and stop acting so pathetic, trying to gain her love through pity."

"You don't know anything," I spat back at him, furious with his little speech. I mean, how could he do this to me? Who says these things!?

"Oh really? Then tell me what I don't know," he replied, just as angry now. His face was getting red and his eyes shined with anger.

"She's my friend. That's all she'll ever be! Why would I want Lora when I could have any girl in this school!?" I lied at him, realizing just how loud we had gotten.

I heard a sharp gasp come from behind me and as I swerved around, I saw Lora running out the bathroom, dropping my sheets as she ran. James was standing in the doorway, Peter at his side. I saw fury brewing in James' eyes and anticipation in Peters'. I knew I was in for it. I instantly hated myself for lying like that to Remus.

"What's wrong with you!" James yelled at me, not waiting for an answer.

"I didn't know she was-" James cut me off though.

"Why were you talking about her like that!?" he asked, still yelling at me. Guilt hung in my chest and I wished that, more than anything, I could go back in time and change what had happened.

"Remus kept asking-"

"What? Remus! I thought we agreed-" This time James was cut off by Remus though.

"I know what we agreed on, James, but I just wanted to hear him admit it," Remus replied calmly, leaning against the cool stone wall of the bathroom.

"But it's _so_ obvious. Why would you need to hear him-" I stopped James. What was going on here?

"What do you mean it's 'so obvious'?" I asked, curiosity taking over my emotions.

"Well it's pretty plain to see that you have a thing for Lora, Sirius. I mean, it's well known through out the school that you like her as more than just a best mate," Prongs replied to me honestly. I saw genuine concern in his eyes so I let my temper simmer.

"I don't like Lor-"

"Why won't you just admit it to us, Sirius? We're your best mates. We'd only try to help you. You know that," Remus said to me, staring at me intently.

"I…I like Lora, okay? It's not like she likes me though," I said, shifting my gaze from them. I knew I was still under the speculation of their watchful eyes though.

"You never know Sirius. I mean, if you told her how you felt-"

"Why would I do that? Ruin our friendship? Have her hate me? I'd never want that from Lora," I said, sorrow clinging onto my voice.

"You don't know that Sirius! What if she likes you just as much as you like her? What if she's talking about you to Lily right now? You just don't know! Take a chance, Padfoot!" James urged me.

"I can't-" I whispered.

"Well then you're not the Sirius I became friends with seven years ago. He was brave. He took chances. He didn't stand here, yelling at his friends because they want him to be happy with the girl he's meant to be with. You're not being you Sirius. You can't give up on Lora! Do you think I ever gave up on Lily? No. For seven years I followed her around and listened to her turning me down almost every day. I never gave up though, Sirius. I kept trying. And look at us now! We're dating! You can't give up on Lora, Sirius! You just can't! Not when you're meant to be with her!"

I stared at James, shocked by his outburst. Maybe he was right. This isn't me. I was brave before and now I'm a coward! I used to be able to ask out any girl that I pleased, and now I'm hiding from the mere thought of asking out my friend. This isn't Sirius. This is some coward.

"You're right, Prongs. This isn't me. I used to be brave. What happened to me?" I asked him, shocked at the sudden revelation I had made.

"You fell for a girl, Sirius. It happens to the best of us," James replied, clapping his hand on my back and chuckling to himself.

"What do I do? I mean, I _want_ to make a move on Lora but what if she doesn't like me? I don't want to ruin our friendship," I said to him, pleading for an idea.

"Baby steps, my friend, baby steps. Don't worry, I have a plan," he replied, getting the kind of smile on his face that he got whenever we planned a prank. I knew that this was going to be a good idea.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Losing A Friend**

"What do I do? I mean, I _want_ to make a move on Lora but what if she doesn't like me? I don't want to ruin our friendship," I said to him, pleading for an idea.

"Baby steps, my friend, baby steps. Don't worry, I have a plan," he replied, getting the kind of smile on his face that he got whenever we planned a prank. I knew that this was going to be a good idea.

-15-

"Oi! Get up already!" I hissed at the girl's dormitory window. It was freezing cold outside and I was in nothing but my pajamas and a cloak. Not to mention I had the wind soaring past me as a sat balanced on my broom.

I leaned forward and glanced into the dark, silent dormitory again and squinted to get a look at where Lora would be. My eyes swept across the room when I saw someone with flaming red hair turn and look in my direction. I tried to move swiftly out of her view without falling off of my broom but it was too late. Lily's head popped out of the window and she looked at be, flabbergasted.

"What do you think you're doing, Black!?" she whispered at me. Her expression showed that I was probably the last thing she expected to see flying outside of her window.

"Uh, just hanging out. Did you forget my name because last time we talked you called me-"

"Sirius!"

"Yeah, that's what you called me-"

"No, I mean what are you really doing? I sincerely doubt that you just decided to wake up at three in the morning and just sit around next to the girls dormitory window," she said, her voice biting and shaking as she cold air swept past her too.

"Well it's a lovely sunrise-"

"Sirius!"

"Fine, fine. I was trying to wake up Lora. I need to talk to her," I said, begging Lily with my eyes.

"No way! You already hurt her enough yesterday," the groggy red-head replied.

"Please, Lily? I want to apologize! She caught me out of context. Please just wake her up," I pleaded, hoping Lily would follow through with my request.

"Uh, too late," I heard a voice reply. Lora's bed squeaked as she got up and shuffled over to the window.

"Hey," I replied, sadness seeping into my voice.

"Hey," she replied, eying me carefully.

"Wanna go for a ride?" I asked, motioning to my broom.

"Hold on," she said and removed herself from my sight. A moment later she returned with a cloak and hat. After a few minutes of Lily gasping and Lora trying to get onto my broom without falling to her death, we bid Lily goodbye and rode away into the sky.

After a few silent minutes of flying, I landed us on the top of a hill. I offered to help her off but she ignored it, climbing off of the broom herself. After noticing that the ground was blanketed by blank snow, we sat on the edge of the broom, trying hard not to brush hands.

"What do you want, Sirius?" Lora asked me as she stared out at the Hogwarts grounds. They were quiet and bare, the snow on the ground undisturbed. The tree branches were engulfed in the icy substance and icicles shook in the wind. A few owls _hoot_ed as they passed over top of us, towards their destination.

"I just…I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am, Lora. You heard me out of context-"

"How did I hear you out of context? The exact words that I heard you say were 'why would I want to date Lora when I could have any girl in this school!' I think that's pretty clear Sirius. And don't you dare try to tell me that I heard you wrong because I know what I've heard and I've heard it a hundred times over since you said that. So don't tell me that I heard you out of context because I heard you perfectly clear," she interrupted, her words biting my heart like a troll on a wizards scull. The effect was crushing.

"Lora," I whispered, half-heartedly wishing that I had never come to see her. "I really am sorry. But you have to understand the… situation."

"Then tell me the situation! I want to hear _all_ about it," she growled, her eyes fiery and sending their hatred-filled flames toward me.

"I-I…I can't. One day though, I'll tell you everything," I answered, looking at her and trying to convey the message through my eyes. _Hopefully she will understand_ I thought to myself.

"I thought best friends were supposed to tell each other everything," she answered, her voice now breaking and tears filling her eyes. "Or was I wrong about that? I mean out of every girl in this school why would you want to be mates with me?"

"Lora! Please don't say-"

"I can find my way back to the common room," she cut me off, climbing off of the broom and heading down the mountains slope, back towards the icy, grey castle.

"Come back!" I yelled at her, jumping off of my broom.

"Are you going to tell me?" she yelled back, turning to face me. I saw the tears streaming down her rosy cheeks.

"I can't, Lor" I replied, turning my gaze in shame.

"Then go find yourself a new mate," she replied. I listened to the crunching of her feet on the snow until I could hear them no more. I looked up and saw that she wasn't to be seen on the vast campus. I was all alone in the middle of what felt like my own sea. Oh, if only Lora would sail back into it and take me back.

_Find yourself a new mate_ echoed throughout my mind, bouncing off the walls of my scull. I sighed and grabbed hold of my broom and followed her footprints back towards the castle. If only something would come to crush these thoughts, these echoes of her hurtful messages.

"Like a troll," I whispered to myself as I treaded back on flat ground.

-

I entered the Great Hall about an hour and a half later. After trekking back up to the castle, I wandered my way into the common room where Lora was no where to be seen. I then headed up to my dormitory to take a hot shower. Maybe it would scald me enough that I couldn't feel the pain that Lora had left.

It didn't though. At least I was warmer. I dried off, got dressed and drudged along to the Great Hall. I found James, Remus and Peter waiting for me. James looked distraught as I sat down and grabbed some toast.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked James, only listening a little bit. Thoughts of the horrific conversation with Lora were still drifting through my mind.

"Lily won't sit with me. Something about Lora. What'd you say to her?" he asked me, pity in his eyes.

"Just told her I was sorry. Things didn't turn out so good though," I answered between bites of toast. I grabbed some pumpkin juice to wash it down.

"What happened?" Remus asked me with concern.

"Eh, don't really feel like talking about it right now," I replied after taking a long gulp of juice.

"Well the plan will make everything better between the two of you! I just know it!" James answered, his spirits growing merrier now. I laughed as I grabbed for bacon and he shot his fist in the air, as if I had already gained triumph. As if the plan had already succeeded.

"We need to work out the flaws in the plan," Remus whispered to us as Lily and Lora passed by, sitting at the other end of the Gryffindor table. I glanced down at Lora but Lily was blocking my view. I caught a quick glimpse as Lora sat down though and saw that she was deliberately avoiding me. My heart let out a shot of pain and I felt Remus pat me on the back. I shook him off, nodded to show that I was okay and turned back to my faithful comrades.

"Is Lora not friends with you anymore?" Peter asked, startling us all. I looked over at him and saw the he was looking at me curiously, dying for an answer. I had never seen this greedy look from Peter before but I decided that I didn't have a reason to his the truth from my friends.

"She doesn't want to be my friend anymore," answered truthfully, pain in my voice and tears threatening my eyes once again. Losing Lora hurt more than I could ever imagine.

"Not of any importance," James blurted out stupidly as he chewed on a huge helping of pancakes.

I laughed as Remus scolded him.

"What? It's not! In no way will that interfere with the plan!" James replied, making a snooty face at Remus when he looked away. I laughed again and was thankful that at least I still had the other Marauders.

"It is interfering, however, with my frolics of love and snogging with Lily-kins," James continued.

"Doesn't she hate it when you call her that?" Remus asked, sparing at chuckle at James.

James shook his head and answered, "Nah, she just pretends like it does. I know that it gets her all hot and bothered deep down." He winked at me when he was finished and I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I know she would hate it if she heard you say _that_," Remus replied, shaking his head and smiling.

"Nope. She'd love it," James said, biting on the last few words.

"Oh really? Well then you wouldn't mind me doing this then: Oh Lily! Do you love it when James gets you all-" Remus was cut off by James shoving a few pancakes in his mouth and pushing him off the bench though.

"Oh, don't listen to Remus, Lilypad! He's just being silly!" James yelled down to her. She rolled her eyes and shook her head before turning back to Lora though. I saw her laugh a little as she turned her head though.

I looked down there to see if she was still laughing but instead my eyes were locked with a pair of bright blue ones. They were slightly red from crying and they turned immediately away after looking at me. Lora blushed as she turned back to Lily.

Maybe it wasn't the end of things between us after all.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The plan

I looked down there to see if she was still laughing but instead my eyes were locked with a pair of bright blue ones. They were slightly red from crying and they turned immediately away after looking at me. Lora blushed as she turned back to Lily.

Maybe it wasn't the end of things between us after all.

-16-

"This will never work," I said, pacing back and forth while Remus and James put on their masks.

"Of course it will, I thought of it," James replied, winking at me.

"So we should be worried?" Remus joked as he combed his hair. I laughed a little, though my heart was beating hard in my chest. This plan was too risky. There were so many things that could go wrong.

"Stop fretting, young Sirius. This plan is foolproof. Just listen to the steps one more time. You were the mask. This whole masquerade Valentine's Day dance is just some cheesy masquerade dance so she won't be able to tell that it's you. Lily told me what Lora is wearing so you'll be able to recognize her. You dance with her, tell her how you feel and then bam! You two snog until your mouths fall off. See? It's flawless!" James exclaimed, inhaling deeply after his long speech of a plan.

"She'll recognize my voice, you wanker," I replied harshly. I was beginning to get annoyed by this.

"We've got it covered," Remus answered shortly, pulling on his cloak.

"How? _How_ have you got it covered?" I asked, getting more and more annoyed by the second.

Remus grabbed my shoulder, which halted my pacing, and set me down on my trunk. He walked over to his own trunk and began rummaging around in it. I opened my mouth to find out what he was doing but he put up his pointer finger to shush me. After a few more moments of digging through his trunk, Remus pulled out a small, silver flask.

"Drink this," he said briskly, shoving the bottle into my hands. I glanced at it a moment cautiously.

"What is it?" I asked, still examining the mystery flask.

"It's a potion that our very own Moony whipped up. Your voice will be changed for about two hours, just long enough for you to declare your undying love for Lora. Told ya we thought of everything," James answered, sending me another wink.

"Well…what if…um-," I stuttered. Remus and James glanced knowingly at each other and then came and sat down on both sides of me.

"It's okay to be nervous, Sirius. This is a big moment for you," Remus whispered in a reassuring tone. I felt James clap his hand on back, trying to convince me silently that everything would be okay.

I sighed and replied, "I guess it's worth a shot."

-45 Minutes Later-

"Not so tight!" I yelled as Remus tied on my mask. It was a simple mask: black, silk and hid the upper portion of my face.

We stumbled out of the common room in a hurry and jetted off towards the Great Hall. Large groups of friends and students crowded around the doors, trying to push their way into the large room. Girls stood in clumps, peering over the heads of others trying to identify some of the other students. The sudden noises of people shouting their friends name to try to find them emanated over the crowd every few seconds. It was dim in hallway, to keep the era of mystery around the masquerade premise. Amidst the crowd, flashes of bright dresses and dark dress cloaks floated around, appearing and disappearing in a heart beat.

_A heart beat_. My heart moved quickly as my eyes glanced over the crowd. I tried to single out a girl with dark brown hair but the number was too big and I knew that I would never find Lora in this crowd.

James must have spotted my searching eyes and realized what I was doing. He leaned over and whispered quietly, though loud enough for me to hear over the screams from the crowd, "She's wearing a light blue dress. She has on a white mask." I nodded and edited down my search, adding in the variables that he had just told me.

After a few more moments of scanning my peers, I settled on the option that maybe Lora was already inside. I headed toward the ever-growing crowd with Remus and James at my side. We pushed and shoved our way through the stubborn youth around us. After what seemed like hours of trying to squeeze through the tight spaces and ignore the complaints from the teens around us, we finally made it to the entrance way.

The entire Great Hall was decorated like something out of the Renaissance era. Brightly colored tapestries hung from every wall. A table on the wall where the Slytherins normally sat was covered with delicious foods such as hams, puddings, tarts and pies. There was a very fancy fountain next to the medium-sized oak table. Pumpkin juice cascaded out of it eloquently. Students were already shoving their empty goblets under it to catch some of the delicious drink. It was dimly lit inside and you had to squint to really see the basic details of someone's face. i _Perfect._ /i 

Suddenly, a hand grabbed hold of my upper arm tightly and I whipped around to see James and Remus looking at me.

"We need to separate. If Lora and Lily see you with us, they'll realize right away it's you and this whole plan will have been a waste of our time and effort. So go mingle around, grab something to eat and drink and then go make your move on Lora when a slow song starts playing," James said to me clearly. Remus nodded behind him as they turned to go join Lily and Lora, who were now looking at the fountain and laughing about something. _Oh, how I missed seeing Lora laugh._

"Have fun!" Remus said as he started walking away from me. I nodded and smiled, though my heart was beating fast now and I was growing more and more nervous by the second. I fumbled with my hands for a moment, wondering what to do now. I looked towards the stage that was set up where the Hufflepuff table had been just a few hours before. I realized that it was the Rising Phoenix's that were jamming out on stage. I had heard a few of their songs before but nothing to really get me hooked on them. I nodded my head along with one of the beats as I focused around the rest of the room. There was no one else I recognized. Every face was hidden behind exquisite masks. Some masks were decked out in jewels and sparkles. Others had adorned feathers of all sizes and colors onto theirs. Occasionally I would see a mask that resembled and animal. I saw a few owls, one tiger and someone who cleverly made their mask rotate every few minutes from one Hogwarts house animal to another.

I glanced back over to the food table to catch another glimpse of Lora. I settled my back onto a cold, stone wall and finally she came into my view.

Lora looked gorgeous. Her dress was a light blue and the bottom puffed out a little bit. A Silver necklace around her neck caught my eye. Her hair was down but it was in waves which looked stunning, framing her face. I watched her fiddle with a silver bracelet around her wrist as she laughed at something that Lily said. Lily was dressed in a dress somewhat similar to Lora's, only Lily's was emerald green and didn't puff at the bottom. Her hair was in curls in and up off of her neck. I saw her hand looped with James. He rubbed that back of her hand with his thumb and every once in a while whispered something in her ear. I couldn't see it but I knew that she was blushing at whatever it was. I made a silent wish to myself that I was over there with them, laughing and having a grand time. I wished that I had never gotten into that fight with Lora and that I could just go on secretly admiring her. I knew I had a plan to go through with though.

"When tonight is over, everything will be back to normal, only better because Lora will be my girlfriend," I reassured myself. It was only half-hearted though because, unlike Remus and James, all of the things that could go wrong were embedded in my head.

I reached my hand into my cloak pocket and clasped onto the cold metal flask. I quickly uncapped it with my thumb and pulled it out into the open. When no one was looking, I downed it in a second.

It tasted…heavy. It felt like a big, thick lump trying to find its way down my throat. There was no real taste to it but it was a problem trying to swallow it. After spending a few minutes of almost choking, I finally swallowed it completely. I opened my mouth nervously, uncertain about what would come out.

"Uhhh," a deep, unfamiliar voice said. I stepped back (slamming hard into the wall that I was leaning against) when I realized that that was _my_ voice. I decided to keep my mouth shut for a while after that, so not to surprise myself anymore.

After about a half hour of walking around the massive crowd, I found Lora all by herself at the fountain. She was looking at the fountain cautiously, holding onto her goblet tightly.

I walked up to the other side of the fountain. She didn't glance up at me, but remained fixated upon the cascading pumpkin juice.

"Need some help?" that deep voice asked once again, emanating from my mouth. She looked up suddenly, broken out of her trance, looked at me and laughed to herself.

"I suppose. I was just a little nervous that it would spill everywhere or something of the sort," she admitted. I was genuinely surprised that she didn't recognize me. I had expected her this whole time to catch on to what was going on and realize it was me instantly.

"Nah, unless the Slytherins have gotten here first," I joked. She laughed some more as I walked over to her.

"Why don't you let me help you out?" I asked smoothly, reaching for her goblet and prying it easily from her soft hands. Our fingers brushed as she let go of the cup and I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, her blushing. I dipped the cup underneath a stream of juice that was flowing down and pulled it back out, now filled with the liquid.

"Here," I whispered to her, holding out the cup for her to grab. She let her fingers brush over mine again and she let a smile escape from her lips as she looked up at me. She glided the cup up to her mouth, parted her lips and took a sip of the juice.

"Thanks," she whispered back, letting the cup depart from her mouth.

"So where's your date?" I asked, gaining more confidence now.

"I don't have one," she replied, her eyes daring me to make a move.

"Well I can't just leave you here all alone. Some guy could just come up and ask you to dance," I replied, fake worry in my voice.

"And how is that a bad thing?" she asked.

"Well it's a bad thing because then you wouldn't be able to dance with me," I replied confidently, letting my hand rest gently on her waist. She let out a small laugh and took a longer sip of her juice.

"What if I don't want to dance with you?" she asked me when she was finished drinking.

"Ouch. Now that hurts. We have known each other for about three minutes now and you just hurt me like that? Maybe I don't want to dance with you after all," I replied, mocking pain in my voice playfully.

"Aw, I didn't mean to hurt you," she said, fake sympathy in her eyes to keep our little game alive.

"Well you have. All I wanted was a dance-"

"Then let's dance," she interrupted, setting her drink down on the table and grabbing me hand. I smiled as she pulled me towards the packed dance floor. We danced along the edge of the crowd to a fast-paced song. I shook my head back and forth to make her laugh; it worked. I took hold of her hand and spun her around in a circle. I spun her out away from me, then spun her back in so that she landed in my arms. I wrapped my arms around her and said jokingly, "Why hello, Lora."

"Hey how do you know my name and I don't know yours?" she asked, putting on a pout.

"I'll tell you if you dance to this slow song with me," I replied, offering my hand. She took it and let me hold her against my chest. Letting my hand slip, she wrapped her arms around my neck and I let myself wrap my hands around her mid-back. I melted as I felt her against me. We kind of drifted into one as we danced. I felt her smile as she leaned her head on my shoulder and soon enough our swaying became more natural that breathing. Remorse swept over me when the song ended and a fast-paced one took its place.

"Oh, it's over?" she asked, clearly disappointed, just like me.

"Yeah. Bummer," I replied, upset by this. I had an idea though. I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the entrance of the Great Hall. She hurried along behind me. When we finally emerged into the empty courtyard outside of the crowded hallway, I pulled her back into my arms.

"What are we doing? It's freezing out here!" she exclaimed, clutching her arms and trying to conserve her warmth. I smiled as I pulled off my cloak and wrapped it around her. She smiled up at me and wrapped her arms around my neck again.

"You promised me that you would tell me your name if I danced with you," she said innocently, looking up at me. Our eyes locked and I looked away quickly.

"Well we aren't finished dancing now are we?" I asked her coyly. She looked confused but I just resumed my place around her mid-back and started dancing with her. She laughed at first but then she settled back in and we moved as one just like we had before. I let my head just rest on hers as we breathed and moved in sync. It just seemed so natural.

I felt something cold and wet land on the back of my neck. I looked up and saw that it had begun to snow. The Hogwarts grounds were getting covered once again with a blanket of fresh, white snow. I wrapped my arms tighter around Lora to keep her warm and we kept on dancing to our own silent, slow song. I didn't know how long we had been dancing but it seemed like ages and I never wanted it to stop.

When the snow around our feet had piled up to the point that our feet were cold, we stopped dancing. Lora remained in my arms though.

"Who are you?" she whispered to me, curiosity in her bright blue eyes.

"I…I can't tell you Lora. You would never understand."

"I might. Just…please tell me."

"I'm sorry. I just can't," I replied, sorrow in my voice. My confidence was dwindling and I felt a weird sensation in my stomach and throat.

_If there's any time to tell her, it's now_ a voice in my head told me.

"Let me tell you something else though," I said to her, grabbing her hand gently. I tried to muster up the confidence that had suddenly dwindled away but nothing came.

"Tell me what?" she breathed. I could see the breath come out of her mouth due to the freezing air around us.

"I know you don't know who I am. And…I know that you would never care if you did know who I am, but I…_I love you Lora_. I wish I could let you know who I am so then I wouldn't have to hold it inside of me anymore but I…I just can't. Know that I care about you though. More than the world. I've loved you for a while now. How could I not? You're amazing. You're one of the most caring people in the world and you'll do anything to help someone. You're funny, and sweet and easily the most stunning girl that I have ever seen in my whole life. I…I just wanted you to know this, Lora. Whether you ever find out who I am or not, I just wanted you to know this," I exclaimed, a breath of relief following my small speech. I had _finally_ told Lora how I felt. Granted she had no idea who it was telling her this but still…she knows that there's some guy out there that would give up the world for her.

Lora looked at me, awestruck. Her mouth was open slightly and I could tell that she wasn't breathing. She sighed when I finished though and smiled up at me. I could see tears forming at the corner of her eyes. She blinked them back but her eyes were still glassy.

"That…that was the sweetest thing I've…ever heard," she said breathily. She gave me a gorgeous smile and laughed to herself.

"What's so funny?" I asked nervously.

"I…I finally have a guy that feels this way about me, and he won't even tell me who he is!" she exclaimed. She wiped away a tear quickly and looked down. "Tell me-"

"I can't. I'm sorry, Lora," I interrupted. I looked down at her and saw a look of pain on her face now. Not physical pain, but emotional. I could see how bad she wanted to know my identity.

Confidence washed over me as I cupped my hands around her face and leaned in quickly. I let my lips press against hers. She was shocked at first but returned the kiss willingly. Time seemed to stop around us as we morphed into one.

When we finally parted though, I crashed back to reality. Lora looked up at me, shocked.

"What just happened?" she asked me.

"The best moment of my life," I blurted out. I immediately blushed as she laughed at my embarrassment. I couldn't help but laugh too. She stepped into me and looked up at me, her laughter turning into a small, curious smile. I felt nervous with her so close to me, examining me so closely.

She reached her hands up toward my face. Her fingertips touched the corners of my mask-

"No. You can't do that," I said firmly. I noticed that my voice had cracked though. Amidst the deep voice that I had temporarily acquired, I heard my normal voice for a split second.

"Oh no," I said, my voice growing less and less deep.

"What? What's wrong?" Lora asked me.

"I…I have to go. Thank you so much for the best night of my life," I said quickly as I grabbed my coat off of her shoulders and ran out of the courtyard.

"But wait! What's your name?" she yelled after me.

"Maybe one day you'll find out," I replied, trying to put on a deep voice. I kept running though, down the corridor, down another corridor and finally turning into the Gryffindor common room. I sprinted up the stairs to the room I had been in just a few hours previous and flung myself on my bed.

"Yes!" I yelled to no one. The ripped off my mask and looked at it. Without warning, I burst into a fit of laughter, I was so happy. After I had finished laughing, I put my mask safely in the bedstand drawer next to my bed and set my cloak down on my trunk. After I slid off my shoes, I laid back onto my bed, replaying the night over in my mind.

I heard people begin to come through the common room door and soon enough, I heard the familiar footsteps up to the dormitory.

"Hey mate, how'd tonight go?" James asked me eagerly as he and Remus perched down on the edge of my bed.

"Best-night-ever," I breathed to him as I leaned over and let myself drift to sleep with thoughts of that kiss fresh in my head.

_Best night ever._


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Gaining A Friend And Losing Another

Confidence washed over me as I cupped my hands around her face and leaned in quickly. I let my lips press against hers. She was shocked at first but returned the kiss willingly. Time seemed to stop around us as we morphed into one.

When we finally parted though, I crashed back to reality. Lora looked up at me, shocked.

"What just happened?" she asked me.

"The best moment of my life," I blurted out. I immediately blushed as she laughed at my embarrassment. I couldn't help but laugh too. She stepped into me and looked up at me, her laughter turning into a small, curious smile. I felt nervous with her so close to me, examining me so closely.

She reached her hands up toward my face. Her fingertips touched the corners of my mask-

"No. You can't do that," I said firmly. I noticed that my voice had cracked though. Amidst the deep voice that I had temporarily acquired, I heard my normal voice for a split second.

"Oh no," I said, my voice growing less and less deep.

"What? What's wrong?" Lora asked me.

"I…I have to go. Thank you so much for the best night of my life," I said quickly as I grabbed my coat off of her shoulders and ran out of the courtyard.

"But wait! What's your name?" she yelled after me.

"Maybe one day you'll find out," I replied, trying to put on a deep voice. I kept running though, down the corridor, down another corridor and finally turning into the Gryffindor common room. I sprinted up the stairs to the room I had been in just a few hours previous and flung myself on my bed.

"Yes!" I yelled to no one. The ripped off my mask and looked at it. Without warning, I burst into a fit of laughter, I was so happy. After I had finished laughing, I put my mask safely in the bedstand drawer next to my bed and set my cloak down on my trunk. After I slid off my shoes, I laid back onto my bed, replaying the night over in my mind.

I heard people begin to come through the common room door and soon enough, I heard the familiar footsteps up to the dormitory.

"Hey mate, how'd tonight go?" James asked me eagerly as he and Remus perched down on the edge of my bed.

"Best-night-ever," I breathed to him as I leaned over and let myself drift to sleep with thoughts of that kiss fresh in my head.

_Best night ever._

-17-

"And then he kissed me Lily! I mean, he just leaned down and kissed me! I tried to take off his mask but he freaked out and ran off. It was so sweet though because he said it was the best moment of his life! Can you believe that Lily? I mean, it was…crazy! To think that some guy at Hogwarts thinks of me like that! It was-"

"Crazy. I know. You've only told me this story about a million times," Lily replied as she sighed and continued working on her Transfiguration homework. James and Remus smirked at me as I petted Jack's back.

"Who do you think it was? Not a Slytherin, I know that," Lora said, wrinkling her brown as she tried to figure out who it was. When she saw that I was petting Jack she called him over to her and gave me a mean look. We still weren't friends.

"What if he was in this very room with us?" James asked suddenly, his eyes getting big as he looked around the room. When he looked at me he burst out laughing.

"Oh, you're right James! But who could it be? Hmm…Remus! Was it you?" Lora asked sweetly as she looked up at Remus. She was seated on the floor next to the fireplace and Remus was in the armchair next to her.

"Oh, you've caught me, love. It was me," Remus replied, giving her a quick wink as he blew her a kiss.

"Really Remus? It was you?" she asked, surprise and excitement in her voice as she perched up onto her knees.

"No," he laughed as she made a face at him and sat back down, pulling Jack into her laugh.

She looked down and lifted Jack up to her eye level. "Was it you, Jacky-poo? Did you kiss me?" Jack barked once and moved his small, furry feet quickly as a sign that he wanted to be put down. She set him back onto the floor and he scampered over to me. He looked up and started barking loudly at me, pawing the ground as he did so. He would turn to get Lora's attention and then shake his head up to me.

"Ew, get away from him Jack!" Lora exclaimed, grabbing Jack and holding him in her arms, despite his movements to get set free. Lora wrinkled her nose up at me in disgust and resumed her place next to the fire.

"When are you and Sirius going to be friends again?" James asked Lora, his annoyance at the situation coming through in his voice.

"Never," she replied angrily.

"Lora, I said I was sorry," I said to her, making my eyes plead for her forgiveness.

"No! Until you tell me the whole situation, no," she stubbornly answered.

"Lora, just shut up!" Lily exclaimed out of no where. Annoyance was written all over her face. The common room remained silent for a moment, taking in the surprise it had just been given.

"What?" Lora asked, shocked at her best mates outburst.

"Lora, sometimes you just have to take what people tell you! Sirius is sorry! You walked in on him saying something awful. He apologized though! You two are best mates, why can't you just forgive him? You aren't always going to get the whole situation, but as a friend, you have to take what he gives you and trust him! Sirius would never hurt you, he cares about you. We all do. That's why I'm saying this. I just want all of us to be friends again," Lily said to Lora, care shining in her eyes.

I looked over to Lora. She was just sitting there, looking at the carpet and shaking her head. I watched her stand up and walk briskly out of the common room. Lily stood up to go after her but James told her to sit down. He motioned for me to go instead.

I walked briskly out of the common room, in hot pursuit of Lora. I saw her walking quickly down the hallway.

"Lora!" I called out after her. When she heard me though, she began running and sprinted down a side hall. I ran faster after her and finally caught up with her. I grabbed her waist and pulled her in close to me. She tried to pull away at first but then she just kind of collapsed into my arms. I walked her into a nearby empty classroom and we perched ourselves on the teachers desk.

"Lor," I whispered to her. "What's wrong?" She leaned into me and set her head down on my shoulder.

"I never meant for things to get so out of hand, Sirius. It just…it just hurt me when I heard you say that. And I wasn't ready to forgive you yet. I wanted you to know how upset I was. And then I told you to go find a new mate or whatever and I just…I just hated myself for saying that to you! You're _my_ best mate, Sirius. I don't want you to go find a new one. You're _mine_." I heard her sobbing through her words and I pulled her in closer to me.

"It's okay. It's okay, Lor," I whispered to her as I set my head on hers.

"No it's not!" she exclaimed, looking up at me. Her eyes were red from crying and she had a pout on her face. "I was awful to you and now I was awful to Lily and I've just been-"

"Awful? Yeah, so have I. But it's okay Lora. Let's just forget that that whole thing ever happened, okay?" I said to, stroking her hair.

"Okay. Merlin, how could any guy ever like me with the way I treat my friends?" she asked herself, shaking her head.

"Maybe he hates you now," I joked.

"Shut up, you wanker," she laughed, hitting me on the shoulder with a book that was lying on the desk.

"See, I bet he's scared you'll beat him up now!" I said, laughing as she slapped my shoulder with her hand.

"Not like it matters. It was probably just some sick joke formed by the Slytherin's," she said, getting up off the desk.

"Nah," I said as I followed suit, "they could never plan something like that." She laughed as we walked out of the room together.

"I'm glad that we're friends again, Siri," Lora said as we made our way back to the common room.

"Me too, I missed you," I replied, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

I quickly pulled Lora behind a wall.

"Look who's coming down the hall," I whispered to her.

We both glanced down the hallway and saw Addie walking with Malfoy and his posse. They were all whispering quietly and urgently with each other. Something definitely seemed off with Addie though. She just seemed…darker.

Lora jumped out from behind the wall, surprising Addie and the Slytherins. I groaned and followed her lead.

"Add, what are you doing?" Lora asked her, concern shining brightly in her blue eyes.

"Oh, erm, nothing Lora. What are you doing?" Addie countered, nervousness blatant in her voice.

"Uh, walking down the hallway. Why are you with Malfoy?" my naïve friend asked, anger beginning to boil in her voice.

"That's none of your business, Clense," Malfoy spat at Lora. I walked forward angrily to defend her but Lora held me back.

"Look Lora, I'll see you later, okay?" Addie whispered, giving Lora and I a convincing look.

"Fine," Lora replied after a moment of pondering. She eyed her carefully one more time before pulling me back in our original direction.

A few minutes later we entered the common room. Remus was still sitting in his armchair but Lily had moved over to where James was on the couch. She was lying in his arms, her face burrowed into his neck. Her arms were clutched around his torso tightly.

"Lily, you just told her the truth. You didn't do anything wrong," he whispered to her as he kissed her forehead gently. Lily shook her head violently in his neck and I heard a sob escape from her lips. I motioned for Lora to go over.

"Lily, you didn't do anything wrong. I was just being a wanker," Lora said to Lily as she patted her back gently.

"I was just trying to help, Lor," Lily said, sitting up and facing Lora. She wiped away a few of the tears that were trickling down her face.

"I know. But Sirius and I are friends again," Lora replied, giving Lily a big, bright smile.

"Really?" Lily asked, sniffing a little. James clutched on to her hand tightly and leaned his head on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Lora answered, giving Lily a hug.

"Now that we're all good, have any of you noticed Addie lately?" I asked, eager to find out what was going on with Remus' ex-girlfriend. When they looked at me in confusion, I told them what Lora and I had just encountered in the hallway.

"She hasn't been going to bed in our dormitory lately. She'll sneak in early in the morning, take a shower, change and leave," Lily answered, still sniffing.

"Really?" Remus asked curiously. I could see that it still hurt him a little to talk about her but I was eager to find out why she was hanging out with Slytherins. Lily nodded in response to this question.

"How come I never knew this?" Lora asked, shocked by Lily's statement.

"Because you're always asleep! I swear, a fleet of hippogriffs and trolls could attack the school and you wouldn't even stir!" Lily exclaimed while laughing. We laughed but then sobered up at the thought of what Addie might be doing so late at night and with Slytherins.

"Maybe they're partnered up for a project?" Lily offered.

"A project that would require her to leave every night and ditch her friends?" Lora countered.

"She's stopped being a Gryffindor and started being a Slytherin," Remus stated from across the room. His hollow eyes were transfixed on the ground.

"That's crazy! She-She… she's one of us!" Lily argued, worry growing in her throat.

"Not any more, Lil. She's chosen a different path from us," James said quietly, wrapping a comforting arm around Lily. Her eyes were shining with worry for her former friend.

"So what do we do about it?" Lora asked, looking around at all of us.

"There's nothing we can do. She's gone," I replied somberly.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Happy Birthday Lora Clense

"That's crazy! She-She… she's one of us!" Lily argued, worry growing in her throat.

"Not any more, Lil. She's chosen a different path from us," James said quietly, wrapping a comforting arm around Lily. Her eyes were shining with worry for her former friend.

"So what do we do about it?" Lora asked, looking around at all of us.

"There's nothing we can do. She's gone," I replied somberly.

-18-

"Guess what everyone!" Lora yelled as she ran down the spiral dormitory stairs, into the common room. I looked over and saw that she was still in her pajamas (which consisted of flannel yellow and blue pajama pants, a bright yellow tank top with a bluebird on it, and my white dress shirt.) She tripped over the hem of her pants as she ran over to me.

"It's your birthday?" I asked as she cuddled in next to me, reaching out her hands toward the crackling fire to steal some of the escaping heat. She put on a pout as she looked at me.

"Just take the fun out it, now don't you?" she sassily asked as she conjured a blanket to cover us both. Then she quickly stuck out her hands and put on a big, toothy smile.

"No, you were not born until 11:58 at night so you will not get your official present from me until 11:58 tonight, though I will extend courteous behavior towards you and do you favors. You know the rules, Lor. We do the same thing every year. I am your slave all day until 11:58 and that is when you get your presents. I don't know why you insist on begging for your presents early every year," I lectured her, laughing as she pouted at me once again, sticking out her tongue like a five-year-old.

"Lily! May I please have my present now?" Lora asked as Lily entered the common room, still in her pajama also. She was wearing emerald green pajama pants and a white sweatshirt with _Gryffindor_ written across the front in red lettering. She yawned as she settled down in an armchair across from us. With a flick of her wand, she too conjured up a warm blanket.

"Nope. James told about your little tradition with presents on your birthday so I thought it would be fun to wait until tonight also," she replied sweetly. She looked around the common room, searching for her black-haired beau.

"He's taking a shower," I said to her, glancing towards the boys dormitory stairs. I saw Remus descending them, coming towards us.

"Morning all," he said cheerily as he took a seat in the empty armchair across from Lily. He looked around, rolled his eyes and summoned a blanket too.

"Are we starting a cult around blankets or something?" he joked.

"I'm cold, Remy!" Lora yelled, tilting her head back and howling after her statement. We all laughed as Remus rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Very funny, Lora," he said, laughing to himself.

"Remy, can I have my presents now?" Lora begged, giving him an innocent smile as she slowly stuck out her hands.

"Uh, sure," he said, turning to look back to the boys dormitory stairway. James was now coming down, shaking his hair as he stepped off the bottom step.

"I can?!" Lora asked, excitement picking up in her voice.

"Nope," Remus replied, laughing. Lily stood up to let James take the armchair. I watched as she settled down onto James lap and leaned her head against his.

"Good morning, James," she whispered to him, her happiness to see him shining through her smile.

"Good morning, Lily," he replied, grinning as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, James, is your lap warm with Lily sitting on it?" I asked James from my seat on the couch.

"Yeah, Lily's got a warm rear," he replied, laughing. Lily crinkled up her nose and laughed at this.

"My lap's cold," I said to him, pouting as I stated it. "Come sit on my lap, Lora."

"No way, I don't know where your laps been," Lora replied, crinkling up her nose too.

"It's been where it's always been. Now come sit on it," I declared, grabbing Lora's waist and hoisting her up onto my lap.

"Happy now?" she asked, sighing as the rest of us laughed.

"Yeah, I'm feeling warmer already," I said, smiling and melting on the inside.

We continued chatting in the common room for a bit longer before we finally decided to head down to the Great Hall. Lily and Lora had to get ready first though so James, Remus and I decided to wait in the common room while they took showers and got ready.

"So why didn't you tell Lora it was you?" James asked me, a few minutes after the girls had entered their dormitory. He had a look of confusion plastered across his face.

"I just…I don't want to ruin our friendship," I said slowly. I know that we had all already gone over this but it still worried me to let Lora know how I felt.

"Sirius, we've gone over this. You'll never know how Lora feels about you until you let her know how you feel about her. We're Gryffindors, Padfoot. We're the brave house! So be brave and tell her!" James looked at me, pity in his eyes. I licked my lips in frustration and looked away.

"You think I don't know that I'm not being brave? I know, James. I know. It's just hard for me right now. I don't want to lose Lora."

"Sirius! Just tell-" James was cut off by Remus though.

"Prongs, if Sirius isn't ready yet, then he doesn't have to. This is a big thing. Tell her when you're ready, Padfoot," Remus said to me, care shining through his eyes.

"Fine, but I'm just looking out for you Sirius. Just, promise me that some time before we graduate, you'll tell her," James said to me. I saw determination and hope swirling around in his dark brown eyes and I knew that there was only one thing I could say.

"I promise," I whispered to James. It was weird, hearing that statement come out of my mouth. _Sometime before I graduate, Lora will know that I, Sirius Black, love her_ I thought to myself. She would know that it was me that loved her, not some mysterious masked man. She would know that I was the one that she had danced with that night. Lora would know that it was me that she had kissed. Maybe Lora would still be excited to dance with me. _Or to kiss me_. But the idea of knowing how she felt got me excited. No longer would it be some unanswered question, hanging in the air. No longer would I wonder when I would work up the courage to tell her. By the end of this school year, I would have told Lora. I would know how she felt about me in just a few short months. I felt my heart fill up with hope and happiness at the thought that I finally had a deadline for telling her. I had three months to work up my courage to tell Lora that I loved her. _Three months_. Those two little words hung around in my mind. They carried with them hope, joy, excitement, fear and some sign that signified that I was really growing up.

I turned around as I the light sound of footsteps. I saw the girl that I had just been pondering about descend down the spiral staircase behind me. Everything seemed to freeze around us as she walked slowly over to the couch where I was seated. Lora's hair was in dark curls and she had wrapped a maroon scarf around her neck. Her eyes smiled to me. I felt my heart melt quickly. When she smiled at me with her soft mouth I just thought my heart was going to give out from beating so fast.

"Hey, we're ready to go," she said as she yanked my arm up, trying to pull me off the couch. I hadn't noticed that Lily had come down behind her.

"Okay, let's head off to the Great Hall," I said, trying to catch my breath.

We entered the grand room a few minutes later. Some students were already there, eating their lunches and chatting with friends. McGonagall was chatting with Slughorn, though her expression showed no joy in it. Dumbledore looked amused, watching them talk.

"Do you all know what today is?!" Lora shouted at the students in the Great Hall. James and I burst out in laughter, which earned us a glare from Lora. Remus and Lily, however, tried, and failed, to stifle their laughter.

"Uh, Sunday?" someone yelled from the Ravenclaw table.

"I guess but do you know what's special about today?" Lora yelled to the crowd again, which earned more laughter. Students looked around and asked each other curiously what today was. Some gave Lora puzzled expressions while others looked annoyed that she had disrupted their lunch. McGonagall was shaking to her head while smiling as Dumbledore chuckled to himself.

"It's March third, you wanker!" Josh (the sixth-year Chaser on our Quidditch team) yelled jokingly to Lora. We all burst out laughing at. Even Lora couldn't hold back a giggle.

"Shut up! It's my birthday!" Lora yelled over our laughter. The sweet sounds of our fellow students grumbling at Lora's announcement filled the Great Hall as the Gryffindor table burst out singing 'Happy Birthday' to her. She grinned brightly as we took our seats at the long, wooden table.

The rest of the afternoon basically consisted of doing whatever Lora wanted to do. First she wanted to eat, so we all ate merrily while laughing and joking. Josh joined us for some of the day. Lora got the bright idea that she wanted to eat up at the professors table (because she decided that she was 'above' us for the day) so she settled in next to McGonagall. I laughed as McGonagall looked even more annoyed by Lora than she did by Slughorn, though I did catch her laughing a few times throughout their meals. Finally Lora resumed her place with as and we headed outside.

The snow from weeks before had cleared up and spring was coming soon to Hogwarts. We played a few games of hide and seek before Lora decided that she missed Jack. So she sent James to go fetch Jack and bring him outside. After about an hour of trying to teach him how to play dead and spin in the air (both of which he now knows how to do), we decided to play tag. We played for about forty-five minutes when Lora declared that it was too cold to be playing outside (this was right when she was tagged to be 'it' by the way.) So we headed inside after that. Josh had to go work on a project for McGonagall's class so it was back to the original group again. We took our time heading back to the Gryffindor common room, letting Jack run ahead and stamp his feet waiting for us to catch up. When we finally entered the common room, it was late. Darkness had overtaken the bright sky outside, leaving just the stars twinkling in the sky. The common room was empty when we entered it's warm interior.

"You know what time it is?!" she yelled excitedly as we sat down.

"Oh Merlin," James muttered, worn out from our busy afternoon.

"That's right Jamie-poo! It's 11:58! At this moment many moons ago, I emerged from my mothers womb-"

"Woah, too much Lora!" Remus exclaimed, cupping his hands over his ears.

"Fine, but cough over my presents," she demanded jokingly. We all laughed as we exited the room and returned with her presents.

"Lily first," Lora exclaimed, opening Lily's bag.

"Ahhh! I love it!" Lora yelled as she eyed the shiny necklace. Lora continued to go around the circle, opening presents. Remus got her a little gift basket of chocolates. James had bought her a black jacket that she had been obsessing over last time we went to Hogsmeade. Jack pulled forward a blue sock.

"You found my missing sock, Jacky! Thank you!" she said sweetly, smiling down at the small, furry dog.

"Here's your present," I said, tossing a small box to her. She caught it excitedly and opened it up.

"Oh, Sirius, it's gorgeous!" she said, giving me a sweet smile. She pulled out the silver charm bracelet and looked at it excitedly. A small dog dangled off of it.

"Woah, what's that?" Lily asked, craning her neck to look outside the window.

And owl swooped in carrying a bouquet of red roses. Lora jumped up and ran over to receive the fragrant flowers. She pulled out a small white note and read it to herself. Her eyes grew big as she closed the letter and set it back amidst the flowers.

"Who's it from?" Lily asked curiously.

"My masked man," Lora replied, giggling as she said it. While Lily and Lora read over the note together, James looked at me with a confused expression on his face.

I just smiled and winked at him.


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Off to the library**

And owl swooped in carrying a bouquet of red roses. Lora jumped up and ran over to receive the fragrant flowers. She pulled out a small white note and read it to herself. Her eyes grew big as she closed the letter and set it back amidst the flowers.

"Who's it from?" Lily asked curiously.

"My masked man," Lora replied, giggling as she said it. While Lily and Lora read over the note together, James looked at me with a confused expression on his face.

I just smiled and winked at him.

-19-

"We shouldn't be in here, Lora," a quiet voice spoke as footsteps padded across the old stone floor of the boy's dormitory.

"Oh, I come in here all the time!" Lora replied, reassuring and excited. I felt someone sit on my feet, sending a sharp pain up my leg as my ankle bent.

"Merlin, get off my ankle!" I grumpily said as I sat up still groggy from waking up with such a rude awakening.

"My name's Lora, not Merlin. If you haven't figured that out after knowing me since first year then I think something might be wrong with your-"

"Oh, quiet Lora," I interrupted, moving my feet so that she could have a place to sit. I looked over at Lily who was standing in the middle of the room, wringing her hands and not really knowing what to do with herself. I saw her peering over at a sleeping James and I immediately through a pillow at the dark haired youth to wake him up. It worked.

"Leave me alone!" he shouted as he pulled the pillow around his head and curled himself up into a little ball underneath the sheets.

"Okay, Lily. I guess James doesn't want to see you," I said loudly as I winked at Lily. James shot up in his bed and threw his glasses on. I laughed loudly with Lora (which made us wake a scratched up and tired Remus) as James looked around the room excitedly, his glasses hanging precariously on the tip of his nose.

"Lilykins!" James exclaimed as he reached out his arms for her to come hither.

"Don't call me that, James," Lily declared as she walked over and sat down in his arms. They shared a quick 'good-morning' kiss as Remus and Peter staggered over and perched themselves around us; Peter on James' trunk and Remus on mine.

"Morning," Remus yawned to us.

"Morning, Remy! Tough night?" Lora asked, glancing at the obvious scars that Remus had collected that previous night. Remus blushed as he nodded to her.

"What happened last night?" Lily asked, worry radiating from her words.

"Oh, erm, nothing. Just didn't sleep good-"

"Where did you get those scratches, Remus?" she interrupted, concern striking a cord in her voice as it furrowed in her brows.

"Uh-"

"Just joking around with the guys," James broke in, stretching his arms and wrapping them tightly around Lily. He pulled her down and planted a big kiss on her cheek, making her blush so furiously that her face now matched her hair.

"Oh, take me Lily," James exclaimed, stretching his arms out onto his bed as he closed his eyes.

"James!" Lily stated, laughing with the rest of us. James laughed along too and resumed his place holding Lily.

I'm going to go take a shower," Remus muttered as the pair canoodled. He got up and hurriedly excused himself from the room.

"So what brings you to this end of the Gryffindor tower?" I asked Lily while Lora wrapped my blanket around me. She tied it in the back so that I couldn't move my arms. I sighed at her and just layed my head down onto her shoulder.

"Oh, Lora brought me with her-" Lily replied.

"Well, I brought her along because Lily had an idea as to what we could do today," Lora cut in sharply. She gave Lily a look that could only be read as telling her to just say what she wanted to say.

"I just thought it would be a good idea if we all started studying today," Lily said quickly as she sent us a bright smile. Silence swept over all of us and the sound of Remus' shower seeped through the bathroom door.

"Why?" James asked Lily slowly.

"Well the finals are only three months away," Lily reassuringly said to us.

"That just means three more months 'til we have to cram," I replied, disgusted with Lily's suggestion of our days activities. _Why would anyone voluntarily waste their time studying?_

"Why do you want to cram? You could just start studying sparingly now!" Lily exclaimed, trying to convince us to join her.

"_You could just start studying sparingly now_," I said, mocking Lily. I laughed as Lily glared at me.

"Come on, guys. It could be fun!" she said, ignoring my groans.

"No Lily. I am not studying," James said firmly.

"Neither am I," I chimed in, clawing my way out of my blankets.

"Look! Sirius is coming out of the womb!" Lora yelled. We looked at her and James burst out laughing.

"What? She's right. That's what it looks like," James said as I glared at him.

"Are you studying with me, Lora?" Lily asked, turning towards her friend. She was clearly mad that her beau wasn't going to study with her so she was really glaring at Lora to say yes.

"Sure," she replied happily as she hopped off my bed.

"Why?" I asked her, scratching my head.

"Because it's better than hanging out with you two wankers," she replied, winking at me. I felt my heart flutter for a moment. I love it when she makes my heart do that.

I watched Lora and Lily exit our dormitory and head towards the old Hogwarts library.

"Uh, I think I'm going to head down there too," Peters said quietly as he got up off of James' trunk.

"Sure you don't want to hang around here with us?" James asked him. Peter nodded and muttered that he should study.

"Right after the dormitory door shut behind him, Remus emerged from the bathroom. He was fully dressed in some jeans and a sweater.

"Where'd the rest of them go?" he asked as he folded his pajamas on his bed.

"Library to study. So I guess it's just the three of us today," I said, trying to stir up some enthusiasm.

"Nope. Just the two of you," Remus replied, setting his newly folded pajamas in his trunk.

"Why?" I asked, getting annoyed quickly.

"I need to start studying for the finals. They're only three months away, you know," he said as he tied on his shoes.

"Three months, Moony! THREE-MONTHS," James yelled. I could see he was annoyed that everyone would rather study than relax today.

"And look how fast three months goes by. You two can fail if you want but I'm going to go study. I'll catch up with the two of you later," he said calmly as he exited our dormitory.

"Well, Padfoot, looks like it's just the two of us, unless you plan on going to study too," James said, looking up at me.

"Nope, I had other plans for the day," I replied, a mischievous tone in my voice.

He smiled and asked me what I had in mind.

"Well, I was going to go take a little glance into Moaning Myrtles bathroom to bother her a bit but we could go bother the little study group in the library if you want," I suggested.

"Let's go see what Lily's doing," he replied. In unison, we stood up and headed out of the dormitory.

**-10 Minutes Later-**

Tiptoeing, we entered the ancient library and snuck behind a tall row of large volumes of books. James pushed aside a few of the books quietly so that we could spy on what our comrades were doing.

"So the treaty for the elf thing was in 1072?" Lora asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah," Lily replied quietly as she glanced over at one of the many books that were scattered over their table.

"But then a few witches had a riot for the elves in 1213?" Remus asked, as Lily ducked behind the book again. She nodded and turned the page.

"Watch this," James whispered to me suddenly. He lifted his wand slowly and motioned for me to look at Lily. I muffled a laugh as I saw what he was doing. The back of her hair was standing up slowly on ends, to the point where her ginger hair was standing straight up. We chuckled I suppose too loudly because Lily's head poked up out from behind her big book and looked around the room. We quieted down and James let Lily's hair drop again. She patted the back of her head, puzzled at what was going on. She shook it off though when Lora asked her a question about the Troll wars. They buried themselves in their hardbacks once again.

"Check this out," I said quietly to James, barely audible. I poked my wand through our peep hole and swiveled it around a little. Lora's hair immediately glided into the air like a snake emerging from a basket. It twisted and turned itself in the air until it formed a snake. I let it fall when she got a confused expression on her face and touched her hair cautiously. I saw her pondering about it for a second before returning to look for her answer.

"They occurred in England, France and Germany," Lily said, finally finding the answer to Lora's question.

"My book says they also happened in small regions of Russia," Remus piped in. Lora nodded as they returned to their books.

"No, no, look at this," James whispered to me. We were trying hard to hold back our laughter now. He lifted his long wand once again and pointed it towards Moony. His hair went straight up in a heartbeat and started to shake. It was vibrating quickly when Remus, out of nowhere, reached up and grabbed his hair. He bit his lip as he let go of his sandy locks and grabbed his wand instead. He motioned the long, wooden stick towards our bookshelf. The volumes hiding our faces slid away to reveal us.

"Surprise!" James said, letting his laughter get out. We burst out laughing at the annoyed looks on their faces. After our chuckling had died away, we strode over to the studying threesome.

"James," Lily said, annoyance showing plainly on her face like words on, well, a book.

"I just came to have some fun," James muttered, realizing how mad she was.

"We are trying to study," Lily growled, cutting her eyes at her beau.

"Lily-"

"Is there a problem here?" the stout librarian interrupted.

"Yes," Lora answered from her side of the square, pine table. "They are interrupting our studying."

"Lora!" I yelled, aggravated with my friend for ratting me out.

"Let's go boys, out of the library," the small, fat woman said, grabbing our arms and yanking us to follow her. After she threw us out the door and told us not to come back for the rest of the day, we stumbled down the hallway, heading for the warming outdoors.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I asked James, a thought occurring in my head.

"Sure," he said, glancing over at me.

"Did you see Peter in the library?"


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: In The Path of Lily's Wrath

"Let's go boys, out of the library," the small, fat woman said, grabbing our arms and yanking us to follow her. After she threw us out the door and told us not to come back for the rest of the day, we stumbled down the hallway, heading for the warming outdoors.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I asked James, a thought occurring in my head.

"Sure," he said, glancing over at me.

"Did you see Peter in the library?"

-20-

"So where do you think he's been going?" James asked me, furrowing his brow with worry. He picked up a book sitting near us and began leafing through the old, tan pages. He snapped the book shut, causing a cloud of dust to emanate from the ancient book, and set it down on our table.

"I don't know," I said as I stared out of the library window. I watched clads of friends sit together near the lake outside, laughing as they chatted with one another.

We had come to the library so often that Lily had begun to get annoyed. James would hide out behind bookshelves to make sure that other guys didn't come up to flirt with her. After he blasted Snape into a book cluttered table (much to my delight and Lily's fury), she lost it. As she helped Snape get to the Nurse's wing, she threatened to break up with James if he ever came to spy on her like that again. Just to make sure that he wouldn't try to follow her in secret, Lily, Lora and Remus had retired to a new location to study. We watched the Marauders Map for hours but we still couldn't find them.

"Well why do you think he was lying to us?" the dark haired boy sitting across from me asked. I saw confusion blooming behind his wire-rimmed glasses.

"I don't know," I repeated, running my hand through my shaggy dark hair.

"Well why not?" Prongs asked, demanding a real answer out of me this time.

"James, if I knew I'd tell you. But I don't know. I wish I did but I don't. Sorry." I snatched a book from a nearby bookshelf and began flipped through the pages. Horrific images of grotesque deaths littered each fragile page. Almost poetic murders filled each space, along with who committed them.

"He'd probably lie to us if we did ask him," James muttered under his breath.

I snapped the book I was holding shut and looked to the cover. _The Horrific And Fascinating Art Of Murder_. I flipped the book over a few times, searching for the author's name. But it was not to be found. Puzzled, I looked at the front page of the mysterious book. There was no authors title inside of the volume either.

"Why isn't a book like this in the restricted section of the library?" I asked myself quietly. _It's filled with gruesome murders, so why is it out here where anyone can get it?_

"What?" James asked curiously, breaking out of his muttering trance.

"This book, look at it," I replied, handing over the large brown book. I felt its coarse skin brush off of my hand and watched silently as it entered James' grasp. He glanced through the pages slowly, his eyebrows arching higher and his eyes growing larger with each turn of the page.

"That's disgusting, Sirius. Why are you looking at that rubbish?" he asked, wrinkling his nose as if a foul stench had been placed directly underneath of it. He lifted the book carefully, as if it were a vile and dangerous potion, and dropped it in my lap.

"I just grabbed a book off of the shelf," I answered, running my finger slowly down the rough spine of the book. A shiver ran through my spine and I stopped.

"Well it shouldn't just be out here where tiny first years could get it. Just picture the little dwarfs running around, conjuring up giant quills to shove through peoples faces," James declared as he glanced out of the large, Victorian window we were seated next to. I saw his brown eyes scour the grounds for a glimpse of a certain red-haired seventh year.

"Exactly, so why is it?" I asked, confuddled by the placement of this awful book.

"Who cares, Sirius? I want to know why one of our best mates has been lying to us! And where he's going! Not about the placement of some stupid, sick book!" James whispered fiercely, anger growing in his voice with every syllable. Silence followed his outburst and we heard a passing 6th year tell us to "shut the bloody 'ell up." After James cursed back at him, we fell back into our silent slump.

I turned my head, letting my eyes wander out of the tall window next to me and towards the Womping Willow. Leaves were beginning to form since the cold, harsh winter had ended. I was somewhat glad that winter had passed by so seemingly quick. Since that was when Lora and I had fought, I was just ready to forget winter and welcome a new season to strengthen our friendship again. Birds had eagerly been returning to their home nests, like students coming home to the summer vacation after a long year of classes. Instantly I saw what I had been hoping to see. Or rather _who_ I had been hoping to see.

"Hey James, there's Lor, Lily and Remus," I muttered, sitting up so I could get a better look at them. His head snapped in the direction I was motioning to, straining his neck to get a good look at Evans. His eyes lit up as he muttered a quick spell under his breath for the window to open.

"Hey Lily! LILY-KINS! Up here!" James screamed (though it sounded somewhat like a small girl shrieking) at the top of his lungs. I saw Lora burst out laughing as she looked up in the direction of the noise James was creating. Remus shook his head while he laughed and whispered something to Lora, only making her laugh harder. The best sight was Lily though. Her expression went from completely shocked and blushing, to embarrassed and a tomato red hue spreading across her cheeks, to anger and then back to shock, though her face was still a bright red.

'What?' she mouthed to James while she tried to cover her blushing cheeks with her hands. Other students that littered the grounds looked up and laughed, surprised also at James' racket. She put a threatening look on her face to show James not to yell like he had just done but I suppose he didn't get the message.

"WHERE-ARE-YOU-GOING?!" Prongs yelled again, cupping his hands around his mouth to project his verbal message louder to Lily. This only made Lora laugher harder and ever Remus and I couldn't stop chuckling. Lily's eyes only grew larger as James continued his shrieking rant.

"Lily! CAN-YOU-HEAR-"

The librarian cut him off though. She grabbed our collars and yanked us back and away from the window, shouting a charm for it to shut on it's own. Stumbling and complaining, we were dragged to the entrance of the ancient library.

"Don't come back!" she yelled furiously as she pushed us out and shut the door tightly.

"Stupid, fat, old hag," James muttered to me as we began to shuffle down the hallway. I chuckled at what he said and we both smiled for a moment. Portraits whispered to each other and chastised us about how they could hear us all the way from the other side of the castle. I laughed when I saw James throw them an inappropriate gesture.

We emerged into the warm outdoors, searching for our three comrades. They soon came into view, walking towards us.

"James Potter! What is wrong with you?!" Lily erupted, her bright green eyes glowing with anger.

"I was just asking where you were-"

"Well you were asking loud enough for all of Europe to hear!" I saw Lora and Remus trying to muffle their laughter as they stood a few safe steps behind the angry Lily. I walked over to them so that I wasn't in Lily's path of wrath. I leaned my head on Lora's shoulder (with some difficulty seeing as she's shorter than me by about a foot.)

"The librarian yelled at me," I whispered while Lily yelled at James some more. She patted my head and giggled.

"I know, the whole campus heard," she replied, smiling. We laughed and continued to watch the show that Lily and James were putting on.

"I'm glad I found you," I whispered to her gently.

"I'm glad you found me too," she whispered back, resting her head gently on mine. I let my heart melt at her words and enjoyed the moment.


	22. Chapter 21

Ch. 21: Biting Butts and All That Mattered

"The librarian yelled at me," I whispered while Lily yelled at James some more. She patted my head and giggled.

"I know, the whole campus heard," she replied, smiling. We laughed and continued to watch the show that Lily and James were putting on.

"I'm glad I found you," I whispered to her gently.

"I'm glad you found me too," she whispered back, resting her head gently on mine. I let my heart melt at her words and enjoyed the moment.

-21-

"Go beat her up, Jack," I urged the small dog, pointing to Lora as she hid behind the maroon sofa. She peaked out and crawled over behind the armchair that Lily was sitting in. She had been refusing to joke around with us, even though this week was Easter Break. The teacher's had piled on plenty of work for all of the Hogwarts students to busy themselves with during the warm and beautiful week. James, Lora and I had already finished though.

I laughed as I saw Jack scurry over to where Lora was and begin to bite at her butt. It was another trick I had taught him (I used James to represent Lora, so now as a consequence Jack went around biting James arse whenever he saw him). She swatted him away and stuck her tongue out at me. She crawled over to me and layed her head down on my leg.

I was sprawled out on the common room floor with James at my side. I had originally wanted to go outside and go swimming in the lake but Lora has a deep fear of mermen coming up and eating her legs off out of jealousy and James wanted to convince Lily to date him again. Their fighting the other day had snowballed so out of hand that Lily had broken up with him and began spending more time with that oil slick, Snape. This only made James more jealous though so he was spending the day blowing kisses to Lily.

"Are you giving me kisses, Jack?" I heard Lora ask. I looked down and laughed as I saw Jack licking away at her face. She looked up at me and giggled. As I stared into her blue eyes, I wanted to see something more. I wanted to see the longing for me that I wanted her to feel. I wanted to see a sense of caring and ownership. If it had been my idea of a perfect world, Lora's stunning, bright eyes would have held love for me in them. They would be beckoning me to come closer and to be hers. It was not a perfect world though, and Lora's eyes read none of that. All they showed was the laughter gleaming in them at the idea of her pet licking the tip of her nose.

To distract my from the aching pain that my heart was not sending out, I raised my eye sight towards James. He looked back at me and blew me a kiss.

"What the-" I laughed, cut off by Jack's barking. He must have just realized that James was in the room (Lora dropped him the other day so he hasn't been acting too bright lately). He immediately ran over to Prongs and began snapping at his rear end. James tried to push Jack away but the small dog refused to leave. Lora laughed as Jack kept barking for James' arse. I felt her lean onto my shoulder and I looked over. She rested her head gently against mine and gave me a small smirk when I smiled at her. I tried to tell my rapid beating heart to slow down but it refused.

Things had been worse than ever lately whenever I was around Lora. I think it's because I know that the end of the school year is not that long away. Only two more months; two more months until I had to tell Lora how I felt. I had pictured myself telling her but…it never ended well. I couldn't let James tell her for me because Lora deserved to hear it from me. I tried to convince myself that she liked me but I knew that she was like this to James and Remus too. Maybe she felt more for me? I doubt it. The question always arose in my thoughts though, why am I so nervous around Lora but I'm always super confident when I'm near any other chick in this school? I had just settled on the answer that Lora was it. She was the one that I could picture spending the rest of my life with. All of the other girls didn't even come close in comparison. All I want is Lora, but she's the one girl that I'll never be able to have.

"Lora, take your dog and keep him off my arse," James declared as he picked up the small dog. Jacks feet were running swiftly in the thin air as he was passed on to his owner. Lora held onto Jack as she set him onto my lap. He circled around a few times before setting down. Though he remained motionless, he cut his eyes at James and refused to look anywhere else.

"Hey guys," Peter said as he entered the common room. We knew he had been upstairs chatting with Remus (who wasn't feeling very good. It was his time of the month). A sense of betrayal swelled up inside of me and I followed James suit as he stood up.

"Hey Wormtail," hearing his nickname, Peter glistened with pride, "come take a walk with us," James said, slapping his hand casually on Peters back. Peter nodded, somewhat nervously, as the three of us began to exit the common room.

"I wanna come!" Lora exclaimed as she stood up to follow us. Jack, who sat in her arms, still stared at James fiercely.

"Stay here, Lora," I instructed her. She pouted at me sadly, trying to convince me to let her come along. I pouted back and smiled as she giggled. I watched her sit down on the couch as I shut the swinging portrait behind us.

"So, uh, what's going on guys?" Peter asked, wringing his hands as we walked down the hallway. Students covered the grounds outside of the windows, working diligently on their homework while chatting casually with their friends. Some students who had finished early were lingering in the hallway, talking with one another or just making their way somewhere.

"Peter, did you have fun at the library when you went with Lora, Remus, and Lily?" I asked in a normal voice, though I could already feel myself growing angry.

"Uh, yes. Very much so," he answered, his small, blue, watery eyes glancing away from me as he answered.

"Did you, Peter? Did you enjoy it?" James asked. I heard a sharpness in his voice that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I knew James didn't tolerate lying, especially not from someone who he thought was his friend.

"Yes, Prongs," Peter whispered, slowing down once he heard James ask the question so harshly.

"Don't call me that!" James shouted, catching the attention of passer-by's in the hallway. He lowered his glance and shook his head angrily. "Don't lie to me, Pettigrew."

"Wha-"

"We went to the library that day, Peter. We know that you weren't there," I interrupted, a snarl growing in my furious voice. I hated people that lied to me. Especially when it's someone as close as Peter was to me. He was supposed to be my friend. We let him join us and we showed him our secrets. I mean, we became illegal Animagi's together! Is there a tighter friendship than what we shared?

"James, Sirius, please don't be mad-" he pleaded.

"Too late," James growled.

"I-I have a reason!" Peter answered quickly, his voice out of breath and growing heavy.

"Then what is it?" I snapped.

"I-I was with a tutor. Please don't laugh at me. It's just that I haven't been doing so well in my studies and you two are always so great in classes. I just wanted to be smarter like you-"

"Is that all Peter? You could have told us that you were seeing a tutor," James replied slowly, a smile forming on his face.

"Well, I just didn't want you to laugh at me," Peter answered slowly.

"Peter! We're your friends! Why would we laugh at you?" I said smiling. I had been worried that we were going to lose Peter to something bad like we had lost Addie but thank goodness that we weren't. Peter was our friend and losing him right after we had lost her would have been unbearable.

"Sorry, guys. I guess I was just worrying over nothing," the small boy voiced, looking up at us with a smile in his eyes. We clapped his back and laughed at our mistake as we made our way back to the Gryffindor common room.

As we slowly treaded down the corridor, Addie came up on the side, walking in the opposite direction. For a spilt second, she looked at us. I saw resentment in her eyes as she looked at me and James. A different expression read across her face when she looked down to Peter. I didn't care though. It was her loss that she had stopped being our friend. We had Peter back and that's all that mattered right now.

That and the fact that I have two months until I probably lose another friend.

My best friend.

Lora.


	23. Chapter 22

Ch. 22: Shaking Things Up At Hogwarts

"Peter! We're your friends! Why would we laugh at you?" I said smiling. I had been worried that we were going to lose Peter to something bad like we had lost Addie but thank goodness that we weren't. Peter was our friend and losing him right after we had lost her would have been unbearable.

"Sorry, guys. I guess I was just worrying over nothing," the small boy voiced, looking up at us with a smile in his eyes. We clapped his back and laughed at our mistake as we made our way back to the Gryffindor common room.

As we slowly treaded down the corridor, Addie came up on the side, walking in the opposite direction. For a spilt second, she looked at us. I saw resentment in her eyes as she looked at me and James. A different expression read across her face when she looked down to Peter. I didn't care though. It was her loss that she had stopped being our friend. We had Peter back and that's all that mattered right now.

That and the fact that I have two months until I probably lose another friend.

My best friend.

Lora.

-22-

"James! Just leave me alone!" Lily hollered as I moved my king. They had been having a go at it all day and right now they were in the middle of another row. They were beginning to annoy us all. Especially me; they were interrupting my game of Wizard Chess with Lor.

I smiled as Lora rolled her eyes at me, responding to my move. I quickly destroyed her pieces and raised my arms in victory. We both laughed as Jack carried my opponents decapitated head over to the crackling fire place. With his gentle paws, the small dog pushed the chess piece into its hot doom.

"Jack! Now I have to get a whole new set of pieces," Lora complained as she scooped the dog up and lifted him high above her head. It was the last day of Easter Break and we were spending the whole day in our pajamas. I don't know why but Lora kept begging me to do it with her so I thought I would. Plus it was a chance to see Lora in her pajamas. She hasn't been coming into the boys dormitory much any more so we haven't had one of our little sleepovers in a long time. I think that she's been staying in the girl's dormitory so much because it's almost time to leave Hogwarts and this time, we won't be coming back. So she's savoring her time left in there.

Anyway, Lora was wearing bright blue shorts and a metallic gold tank top (don't ask me where she found a metallic gold tank top because I don't have the slightest clue). Her hair was in pigtails, which we both loved. She loved it because it meant that she could wiggle her head around a bunch and giggle and I loved it because, well, she looked cute wiggling her head around and giggling. My pajamas consisted of some black sweats and a white t-shirt. Normally I just sleep in my boxers and no shirt or sweats but Lora made me cover up. She told me that if I was going to flaunt my body like that, at least do it for money.

"Nah, I know James has some extra pieces left over from when I beat up his pieces too. I think one of them is a king," I offered her. She smiled and shook her head, which lead to the wiggling of the pigtails. I watched them bounce around and couldn't stop myself from laughing loudly. I guess the joy that one gets from wiggling pigtails is contagious.

"Let's go, Sirius," she said abruptly, picking up Jack as she stood up. I followed her suit out of pure curiosity. Plus I was sick of listening to James and Lily yelling at each other.

"So where are we going, Miss Lora?" I asked wrapping my arm around her shoulders, scratching Jack's head as I did so. He barked out of joy and I saw her smile as he wagged his tail against her arm. She began bouncing her curls to this and I shook my hair around too. Once we entered the corridor though, I told her to stop. We looked like freaks, shaking around and what not. She giggled when I told her this.

"We are traveling the treacherous and unknown paths of the mystical Hogwarts, young lad," she replied, pitching her voice at a high note.

I laughed and replied, "You mean the treacherous and unknown paths around the mystical Hogwarts that we have been traveling since we were wee, tiny first years?" She wrinkled her nose (which warmed my hot heart a bit more).

"Why, yes, Sirius. Since we were _wee _first years," she answered, mocking my usage of words. I bumped her hip with my hip playfully, wrinkling my own nose at her. She smiled and lifted Jack up to my face. He wiped his wet, warm tongue across the tip of my nose.

"Aw, Jack has a crush on someone, Sirius," Lora said in a sing-song-y voice, winking at me. I smiled and gave Lora a little kiss on the nose. She giggled and blushed as she shook her head (and her pigtails).

"Not me, Pad! Jack!" she said, as if my kiss had been preposterous. I raised my eyebrows in mock-shock and noticed that she was still blushing. I leaned down and kissed Jack one the nose though. His nose was wet and cold and he licked up my nostril when I gave him a kiss. Then he tried to bite my cheek.

"Tell your rabies-infested dog to go away, Lor," I said as I rubbed my cheek where he had bit (though it was only a gentle bite).

"Okay, go away Siri," she joked. I opened my mouth in shock and laughed as shoved her gently with my shoulder.

"Hey Sirius," I heard a voice whisper in my ear. I turned around and saw Melissa. She was just another girl that had a crush on me in this school. Was about to tell her to go away when I had a thought. Girls try to make guys jealous all the time. So, why don't I give it a try?

"Hey Mel," I replied, dropping Lora's waist (though I really didn't want to) and grabbing hold of Melissa's. I saw Lora look down and I turned back to her.

"Uh, hey Lor? We'll catch up later, okay?" I asked, looking at her sincerely. My heart was begging me to stay with my friend but I had already gotten the idea to try and make her jealous. Maybe it would work or maybe-

"Yeah, sure. You two have fun," she replied, a sweet smile forming on her face as she waved goodbye and continued down the hallway, Jack sitting I her arms. He peaked his head back over her shoulder and barked for me, but Melissa was already dragging me down the nearby stairs, which had just moved towards us. She grabbed my hand tightly as she pulled me down the stairs behind her. She began talking about my hair or something. I don't really know; I was still thinking about Lora and why she hadn't gotten jealous. _Because she doesn't like you, Sirius. You know that_ a small voice whispered inside my head.

"Melissa, where are we going?" I asked, stumbling over the stairs because she was pulling me so quickly. She just turned around and winked at me. Lora did that sometimes. It always made her seem sexier (not that she needed that). It didn't seem to have the same effect for Melissa.

She finally pulled me out onto the lawns, showing me off to everyone that was out there. I blinked my eyes in the bright sunlight and waved to a few people that called out my name. She continued to clutch onto my hand as she pulled me over next to the lake. She plopped down onto the warm grass and looked up at me, expecting me to do the same I guess. I sat down next to her and she immediately pulled me into a deep kiss. I really didn't want to kiss her but I didn't want to seem rude so I replied with a kiss. She kept pulling me in for more though. Out of no where, I remembered what Lora said about flaunting my body to people and getting paid for it and I just burst out laughing. I must have bit Melissa's lip or something when I laughed because she pulled away and put her hand to her mouth quickly, checking for blood. Then she looked up at me.

"What the bloody 'ell are you laughing about?" she demanded. Her tone immediately struck a sour chord with me. I shook my head to say nothing. I didn't want to verbally say something because I didn't want to ask her why she was being such a bloody bi-

She leaned in really close to me though and whispered, "Will you kiss my lip and make it better?" She set her hand on my neck and I shook it off quickly.

"Uh, no. Look Melissa, you're nice and all but…well, no you're not. You're actually rather annoying. So…bye," I replied, standing up and beginning to walk away from her. I heard her call out my name a few times but I ignored it. I really wanted to just go and hang out with the girl I really like for a while.

I must have searched the castle for an hour. It was dark by the time I found her (I guess that's due to the fact that we left the common room so late in the day. We spent the whole morning playing Wizard Chess in pajamas).

Lora was seated under the same tree where we had met. She was the only one left on the grounds now and through the darkness, I could see her petting Jack in her lap. As I stepped closer though, I heard her sniffle.

I sat down next to her on the grass and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. I could feel her shudder as she sobbed to herself. I leaned my head against her and whispered to her, "What's wrong, Lor?"

"Nothing," she replied, wiping away her tears.

"Lora."

"I'm just upset about…James and Lily. They make such a good couple. They need to stop fighting," Lora replied. Her answer was a bit odd but I figured that it was just her time of the month or something. I whispered to her that every thing would turn out just fine between Lily and James. I told her that they get in fights all the time but always made up in the end. She nodded and leaned into me. I looked down and wiped away a few tears that were left over on her soft cheeks.

"Come on," I said as I pulled her up off of the ground. Jack trotted behind us as we made our way back to the common room.

"How's Melissa?" she asked as she sniffled a little.

I laughed and replied, "Conceited as ever." Lora smiled and giggled, shaking around her pigtails as she did so. I shook my hair around with her and we both laughed loudly as Jack barked and wagged his tail.

When we entered the common room, it was in complete chaos. James and Lily were screaming their heads off at each other. Something about studying I caught but the rest I couldn't make out. They were both screaming too loudly over one another. I saw Lily run to the girl's dormitory and slam the door shut behind her.

"Prongs, what's going on?" I asked as James strode by on his way to our own dormitory.

"I never want to date Lily again," he replied furiously as he slammed the door shut after him.

I looked over at Lora as she made her way towards her dormitory to comfort Lily. She didn't seem bothered at all about what James had just said.


	24. Chapter 23

Ch. 23: friendly fights and bloody boys

"Prongs, what's going on?" I asked as James strode by on his way to our own dormitory.

"I never want to date Lily again," he replied furiously as he slammed the door shut after him.

I looked over at Lora as she made her way towards her dormitory to comfort Lily. She didn't seem bothered at all about what James had just said.

-23-

"It can't be that bad, James," Remus stated as he buttoned up his white uniform shirt. We were all sitting in our dormitory, getting ready for the school day that was unfolding for us. Peter was lying on the ground, searching under his bed for another sock to wear. I was sitting on my trunk, rolling my sleeves up and listening to James complain about Lily.

"It is! All she ever talks about is studying. And she keeps nagging me to study with her. 'Oh James, you're going to fail the exam if you don't study'," Prongs mocked, putting on a high voice to imitate Lily. I chuckled at this. Not because of what he said; he just sounded funny imitating a girl.

"It's just because Lily wants to do good on her exams. She wants you to do good too. That's why she keeps nagging you. You know that, mate," Remus replied, getting annoyed by James' complaining. And he wasn't the only one. A few days before, Lora had thrown a book at James in the hope that it land in his mouth and muffle his speech so that she didn't have to listen to him anymore. Needless to say, it didn't work. Though I wish it had. People around the common room had been walking on eggshells so as not to mention Lily, studying or anything that could be related to either. If they slipped up then we would get an hour of James pacing around, yelling about how annoyed he was. Lora told me that all Lily did was study harder and most of the time she forced Lora to study with her. If Lora even mentioned that Lily was wrong about something, Lily would snap at Lora and get upset.

"Whatever. I'm just glad that I got out of that relationship." He wiped his circular glasses on his shirt and then set them on the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, please. We all know that once finals are done you and Lily are going to go running back to one another. You two belong together and you know it, Prongs. So don't go off and say that you're out of that relationship. You're merely taking a break," I barked, getting frustrated by James bad mouthing his relationship with her. Everyone in the castle knew that soon enough they were going to get back together.

"Why don't you just shut up, eh? You're definitely not one to be giving statements about relationships," he yelled at me. This only made me angrier.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I questioned, trying to hold back the fire that was ready to pour out of me like impatient, boiling lava out of a volcano.

"'Oh, Prongs, Lora doesn't want to date me! She'd never like a guy like me-'"

"Shut up!" I yelled, pushing James back. His back hit the banister hard and I saw deep anger in his eyes. He swung his fist at me hard and it landed right on my cheek. I pushed him hard and soon enough we were swinging punches left and right.

"Hey, Siri! Are you- Stop! Stop, stop, stop!" Lora yelled as she ran over to us. She grabbed my arm and pulled me away from James while Peter and Remus held him back. I could feel something warm and wet trickling down my cheeks and immediately my face hurt from where he had hit me.

"Come on, Sirius," she said, dragging me out of the room. I looked over at James and saw that he was holding his nose. I guess I had punched him there. I wasn't really sure. All I know is that I was swinging punches left and right. I immediately blushed when I realized that Lora had seen me acting like an idiot and she had had to come break up the fight.

"Where aw we gowin?" I asked her. I knew that my nose was injured in some way because my speech sounded funny like it had when Lora had broken my nose. She looked back at me and conjured up a small hand towel quickly.

"Hold this to your nose, you're bleeding. And I'm taking you to the Hospital Wing. Merlin, you're not going to have any blood left in you by the time we get there," she declared, looking back to make sure that I was holding the towel to my nose. "Why were you beating up James?"

"Um, he wouldn't stop complaining about Lily," I lied. I knew that I had only beaten up James because he had mocked me liking Lora. I knew that he really didn't mean any harm from it and that he was only upset over Lily but it still bothered me. I mean, they know how I feel about Lor. I'm just nervous to tell her because I don't want to lose her as my friend. So it's not that I'm upset at James, his joke just hurt me. But I couldn't tell Lora that. I'd sound like a wimp.

"Oh, well it can't be as bad as Lily. I think we've gone over the Troll Wars at least six times by now. I know more about big, stinky, ugly guys than I ever wanted to know," she joked. I laughed, which only caused pain to my head. I groaned out of pain and Lora rubbed my back gently. I pouted at her and she gave me a sympathetic look back. She knew that I didn't intend to hurt James; that all really wanted was for him and Lily to get back together. That was all that any of us wanted. We all know that they make an amazing couple and that this fight should end sooner or later. Hopefully for our patience, sooner.

I spent about twenty minutes in the Hospital Wing listening to the nurse complain about how I shouldn't fight and how bloody my face was and any other thing that she could complain about. When she had her back turned, Lora made a face at me which made me laugh, only this time it didn't hurt as bad. As I exited, James and Remus came in. Remus muttered to James that he was going to go down and get some breakfast and meet up with James later.

"Merlin, even when he's bleeding out his face and he's in pain he still manages to complain about Lily," Remus said to us as we made our way down to the Great Hall. Lora and I both rolled our eyes at this. When we entered the grand, warm room, we saw Lily sitting all by herself, reading yet another book from the library. Every few seconds she would look up and try to recall the information that she had just read. We went over and sat down with her. Lora grabbed the book away from Lily and snapped it shut.

"Lily! Troll Wars? _Again_? Even smart girls need to eat so get to eating", Lora convinced Lily, pushing the basket of rolls in front of our red-haired friend. Lily opened her mouth like she was about to say something but then she stopped. She reached over, a smile forming on her face, and grabbed a roll.

"So what have you been up to this morning?" she asked us as she piled a few pieces of bacon on a plate.

"Beating up James," I replied as I poured hot syrup over some pancakes. Lily's eyes grew big when I told her this and she immediately threw a piece of bacon at me. It hit right in my eye and I groaned as I tried to wipe the grease out of my eye.

"What's wrong with you, Sirius? Why'd you beat him up?" she yelled at me. I could see she was getting upset by this, which kind of surprised us all seeing as she was supposedly angry with James.

"He was annoying me. He kept complaining about studying and you," I answered.

"Well he's just being stubborn about studying. You don't have to go hurt him. Is he okay? Where is he?" she asked, looking concerned. I genuinely felt bad for hitting James when I saw the worry in Lily's green eyes as she looked around the room for a glimpse of Prongs.

"He's in the Hospital Wing. He had a broken nose or something," Remus said slowly, as not to hurt Lily. Too bad it didn't work though. She stood up as if she was about to get off and make sure he was okay. Her mouth dropped open though and she sat back down, a deep blush creeping onto her face. Lora, Remus and I looked toward the entrance where she had been looking and all of us just let our jaws drop.

James was entering the hall, kissing the cheek of a Mexican girl. We all turned back around slowly, our mouths still open.

"Who is she?" Remus asked us as he took a bite out of a blueberry muffin.

"Her name is Bella. I've talked to her before. She's from Mexico but her family moved here so that her parents could get jobs at the Ministry. She's a year younger than us and is in Hufflepuff," Lora answered, shaking her head slightly out of disbelief.

"How do you know this?" I asked her curiously.

"Met her in the library," Lora replied, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"I can't believe him," Lily whispered to herself in complete disbelief. She shook her head to herself and I saw her blink back tears. I patted her on the back to comfort her.

"He's just trying to make you jealous, Lil," Lora said to comfort. Remus and I agreed but Lily still looked upset.

"Well then I guess I have to play his game too," Lily said, squaring her shoulders and sitting up straight. She shook off the pain that she was feeling and looked at me. "Sirius, you may be my fake boyfriend."

"Uh, do I have to?" I asked her as I shoveled some bacon into my mouth.

"Yes," she stated defiantly. She clutched onto my left hand. I heard Lora muffling her laughter which kind of made my heart sink. I turned my attention down the table towards James and his new girlfriend. I watched in disgust as he fed her pieces of a roll. As she giggled at something he had just said, he looked down towards Lily. In an effort to make peace with him, I rolled my eyes and lifted the hand the Lily was clutching onto. He furrowed his brow and turned his attention back to Bella. I saw him say something to her and she clearly looked upset. He looked like he asked her something and she nodded slowly, giving him a small smile as he stood up. He walked down towards us, making our conversation freeze immediatly.

"Sirius, get your bloody hand off of my girlfriend," James declared as he squeezed in between me and Lily. He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a small kiss on her cheek. She turned her head though, directing the kiss towards her lips.

"I'm sorry, Lil," he whispered to her. She nodded and mouthed back 'me too'.

"So how did Bella take it?" Lily asked, a note in her voice sounding like she had just won a victory. And in a way, she did.

"She took it well. I think she knew that you and I would get back together eventually. Oh, and Sirius? Sorry about what I said this morning," James said to me. I nodded and shoveled in more bacon, surprised at how are school day had turned out.

My heart felt like it was in a knot though. I was so happy for Lily and James but…

I knew that my time left with Lora as my friend was drawing to a close soon.

And when I thought about that, I felt like someone had just beat me up all over again.


	25. Chapter 24

Ch. 24: failing, mummy's and skipping

"Sirius, get your bloody hand off of my girlfriend," James declared as he squeezed in between me and Lily. He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a small kiss on her cheek. She turned her head though, directing the kiss towards her lips.

"I'm sorry, Lil," he whispered to her. She nodded and mouthed back 'me too'.

"So how did Bella take it?" Lily asked, a note in her voice sounding like she had just won a victory. And in a way, she did.

"She took it well. I think she knew that you and I would get back together eventually. Oh, and Sirius? Sorry about what I said this morning," James said to me. I nodded and shoveled in more bacon, surprised at how are school day had turned out.

My heart felt like it was in a knot though. I was so happy for Lily and James but…

I knew that my time left with Lora as my friend was drawing to a close soon.

And when I thought about that, I felt like someone had just beat me up all over again.

-24-

"Sirius! Don't make me go!" Lora begged as she held onto my bed post tightly. She had decided early this morning that she didn't want to go to our classes today. So Lor was clutching on tightly to the wooden post on my bed and was standing in my dress shirt and her blue shorts. She was wearing knee high socks and her hair was up lose in a ponytail.

"You have to go. Or do you want to be riding that train back to Hogwarts next year because you failed?" I asked, trying to pull her off of my bed post. She didn't let go though and instead slid down to the floor, still holding on.

"I want to be here next year!" she said excitedly, her gorgeous eyes getting big with excitement at this idea.

"Yeah but Remus and James and Lily and Peter won't be here. And neither will I," I said to her as I sat down next to her. She leaned her head onto my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"You could fail with me, Siri. We could just fail for the rest of our lives. Then we'd never have to get a job or cook or do our own laundry," she said, trying to convince me. She batted her eyes as if to persuade me and I must admit that if she had really been asking me to fail with her, I would have done it in a heartbeat. But I knew that she was only saying these things because she was going to miss Hogwarts.

"Lor, you don't really want to stay here. Imagine you when you're older and you want to have kids and what not. They don't allow baby-making at Hogwarts. You more than anyone should know that," I said to her as I rubbed her shoulder with my thumb.

"Sirius, what's that supposed to mean? I'm not like that Sirius!" she said, defending herself. I saw her blue eyes get bigger when she realized what I was saying. She slapped me on my shoulder when she saw that I was laughing. I love joking around with Lor, especially when she gets so worked up over those little things that I imply.

"I know you're not like that. You're not a skank like some of the other girls in this school. That's why I like you so much," I said to her, without really thinking about what I was saying. Once it was out of my mouth I immediately regretted saying it. I could feel myself beginning to blush and I just wanted to get out of there. I was already picturing Lora telling me to just get away from her or something. I was hating myself with every fiber of my being; perhaps if I left now she wouldn't yell at me? The saddest part was that I realized it didn't even matter. In a few more weeks she would find out anyway. So maybe I would tell her now.

"What'd you just say?" she asked me, scrunching up her nose and smiling at me. Though I really wanted to tell her the truth at that moment, I didn't. I decided to hold it. I mean, I didn't really want to tell Lora that I was in love with her an hour before classes while we sit on the boys dormitory floor.

"I meant that that's why I hang out with you. Because I know that you're not going to fling your top off at any moment. Oh Merlin, you should do that Lora," I said as I tried to laugh the situation off. She rolled her eyes at me and smacked my upside the head.

"Sirius, you shouldn't tell your mum to take her top off. The other kids will think you're a perverted freak or something," Lora warned me. I was puzzled for a moment until I knew what she was getting at.

"Lora, are you my mummy?" I asked quietly, looking up at her with my big, gray eyes. She smiled sympathetically down at me and patted my head.

"Yes, young Sirius. You are my son," she replied, giving me a quick kiss on the forehead. That sent my heart a flutter and I couldn't help but blush a little.

"I don't know what's weirder here. The fact that you slept with my dad and then pushed me out of you or the fact that you're a few months younger than me," I said to her as we both laughed. She hit my head with her palm again and began to pull off her shorts. I raised my eyebrows as she threw them at me. I tucked the corner of them into my pocket.

"Uh, maybe you are the reason they have the no baby-making rule here," I said to her as I tried not to act too interested. She raised her eyebrows at me.

"I'm taking your shirt. You can keep my shorts. Now I'll meet up with you in the common room, I'm going to go get ready," she said as she made her way to the door.

"So you're not failing anymore?" I yelled to her.

"Nope!" she yelled back at me.

-1 Hour Later-

It took forever for Lora to get ready. She finally pranced down her dormitory stairs wearing my dress shirt, her gold tank tap and her uniform skirt. I smiled as she shook her head, her hair back in the pigtails. She looked stunning, as always.

"Nice shirt," I said as she shined her way over to me. She swished her hair in my face and pulled me out of the common room.

Breakfast went by fairly quick. We were both dreading classes today because it was all review for the rest of the year. So in just a few short weeks, we had to re-learn everything that we had learned for the past seven years. Though we only have two classes today, it's still going to be a drag. Which is probably the reason Lor was dragging her feet all the way to McGonagall's room. As we entered Lora took her place in the front seat. I sat down next to her and turned around in my seat. Lily and James were right behind, their fingers intertwined with the others. A pang of jealousy hit my heart as I wished that that could be Lora and I but I let is slide away as McGonagall came into the room.

The rest of class was dreadful. I have heard from seventh years ever since I was a first year that when it got to the point where you had to review everything, it was going to be the worst time that you've had at Hogwarts but I never knew it'd be this bad. We spent all of class answering random questions that McGonagall asked us at any point in the class and if you got it wrong then she took away five house points. Gryffindor lost about twenty points all of class (Peter really needs to get a new tutor because he hasn't been learning a thing) but I genuinely feel bad for the Hufflepuffs. They lost all but fifteen points.

"My head hurts," Lora whined as the two of us exited the classroom. I nodded to agree with her when I got an idea. I grabbed her hand and pulled her down the corridor.

"Sirius, our next class is the other way!" she said to me in surprise as she followed me down the empty hall. I smiled back at her and winked. She immediately caught onto what I was doing and smiled in agreement.

As we settled down next to the lake, we pulled off our shoes and socks and dipped our feet into the water. The coolness of it against the hot sun felt great and I couldn't help but pull off my shirt and lay down onto the warm grass. I felt Lora settle in next to me.

"We shouldn't be skipping class," she said to me as she looked over and shielded her eyes from the sun above us.

"So what?" I replied all nonchalant about what we were doing. This made her laugh and seeing her laugh made me smile.

"Sirius, we're still going to be friends after Hogwarts right?" she asked me, a hint of worry hiding away in her voice.

"Lor, we'll always be friends," I replied. This convinced Lora but I was still trying to convince myself.


	26. Chapter 25

**Ch. 25: Fear and Separation**

"We shouldn't be skipping class," she said to me as she looked over and shielded her eyes from the sun above us.

"So what?" I replied all nonchalant about what we were doing. This made her laugh and seeing her laugh made me smile.

"Sirius, we're still going to be friends after Hogwarts right?" she asked me, a hint of worry hiding away in her voice.

"Lor, we'll always be friends," I replied. This convinced Lora but I was still trying to convince myself.

-25-

"So then I simply told him 'Oh no, you must use _wiggle snouts_ to make the potion. Not dragon's liver.' I am rather amazing for figuring this out now aren't I?"

I looked over at Lora and saw her nodding her head vigorously. I just smiled and rolled my eyes at her.

We were sitting in Potions class at our usual table in the back, near the tall, oak door. Slughorn was supposed to be teaching us how to create a Polyjuice Potion but Lora had so intelligently intervened and asked him to tell us a story about how amazing he was. Then he launched into some story involving a trip to Bulgaria and a broom peddler. I had tuned out all of that though and decided instead to make faces at Lora. For a while we just played a Muggle game that Lily taught us called 'tic-tac-toe'. I won all of the games. Lora just liked making little designs in the boxes.

I heard the door behind us creek open and I joined the rest of the class in looking back towards it. Standing in the doorway was Professor McGonagall. Her light brown hair was sitting in its regular bun shape a top of her head. Her annoyed and pinched expression had been wiped off of her face and she now read the look of a grave person bearing bad news.

"Do excuse me, Horace, but I need a moment with Ms. Clense. Bring your things with you, Lora," she stated briskly. Her tone had differed from when she made the switch of speaking to our Potions professor and then to Lora. When McGonagall was speaking to Slughorn, she had a tight, annoyed tone in her voice that clearly showed that she tried not to talk to him at all costs. When she turned her attention to Lora though, her voice changed. She was being sympathetic with my mate and I could see in her eyes that it wasn't anything good. Students only got called out of class when something bad had happened to their families or when they had done something especially bad themselves. When they did something bad though, Headmaster Dippet would just send someone to come fetch you and bring you to his office. Teachers never came to get someone personally, except it was something really serious that had happened to the student's family. Immediately emotions began to run wild through out me. I missed my friend and wished that she could stay with me in this boring class but at the same time I was worried for her. I knew how much she loved her parents and the last thing I would want is for them to be hurt (though they aren't exactly fond of me. That's a different story though). Curiosity was flying through me also. I was anxious to find out what was going on to Lo. Fear struck me that maybe what happened was going to affect Lora going to Hogwarts. What if she had to be pulled out of the school?

I watched as McGonagall beckoned for Lora to come and I watched sadly as my friend gathered her supplies and exited the classroom. She gave me a small wave goodbye as she shut the classroom door behind her. As Slughorn launched into another story about something or other, my mind drifted away to thoughts of the girl that often visited my daydreams. I had seen fear and worry in Lora's eyes as she exited the cold classroom and all I wanted was to gather her up in my arms and tell her that no matter what it was, everything would be okay. I couldn't promise that though. I didn't know that everything was going to be okay. For all I know, things could go horribly in the opposite direction and Lora could be lost forever.

_Lost forever._ Those words rang around in my mind like a small bell swaying in the breeze. Only the echoes it made hurt. No sweet sounds emanated from it. Only the pain and distress that I had been feeling since I made that deal with James. The thought of only a few more weeks left until I had to tell Lora my true feelings was never far from my mind these days. Quite the opposite, really; it was all I ever thought about. Scenes played out in front of my hooded eyes every night as I drifted to sleep. Occasionally there would be a good time when Lora would tell me that she had the same feelings for me but most of the time her words only made my heart ache with the feelings of rejection and unwantedness. Hardly any time was left in the rest of the school year. All that meant to me was a timer running out on my friendship with Lor. More like a ticking time bomb really, waiting eagerly for its chance to explode and destroy the only true love that I had ever known. My heart would be destroyed from its impact, probably causing me to never love again. Hatred for making that pact with James poured over me like hot syrup pouring over pancakes. While it was hot and would burn me forever, it also had a sweet side. I was anxious to finally tell Lora how I felt. Whether she felt the same way for me or not, at least it would be out there. These feelings would no longer cause turmoil and war inside of me and my life could get back to normal. Maybe I could start serial dating girls again, that would take my mind off of my lost friend. I knew oh too well though that this wasn't true. Nothing would ever be able to erase those memories that Lora had embedded into my mind. I would never want anything to take away those precious times that we had shared. When I was older and sans my friend, those very memories that we are making now would be all I would have.

These feelings were so strange for me. Never have I felt this way for a girl before. Things were so backwards this year. I had begun the year believing that James would never date Lily but look where they are now. For all I know they could get married one day. I never thought Remus would have a girlfriend either. I mean, he's a great guy but he's not very outgoing. He's obviously more outgoing than I have been when dealing with romance. And last year Addie was just this quiet, mousy girl that Lora would talk to sometimes. Now she was turning into something completely else; if only she was turning into something good. Then there was Lora; so many things had changed between us this year. I mean, she kissed me for starters. Granted, one time she was under a love potion, another time it was only because we beat the Slytherins and another time was only because she was telling me good-night but still. That's three kisses from Lo that mean a lot to me. Plus we had become closer this year. We were growing up and she was depending on me now more than ever to be there for her.

So who was I to tell Lora that everything was going to be okay? What did I really even know for a fact anymore? Nothing. Everything had changed this year, including me. I had no clue what I was feeling and more than ever I just wished that I could talk to someone about these feelings. There was only one person that I knew would understand though and that was the one person I could never tell because these feelings were about her. I mean, how would Lora react then if I just came up to her and told her that I was in love with her and I didn't know what to do about. She'd probably leave my sorry arse and find a new best mate. That would crush me more than anything though. Never did I want to feel the hurt of Lora leaving me. Especially when it was all my fault.

Before I knew it, class had ended and everyone was getting up to exit the room. I blended into the crowd of rushing students and emerged out into the fresh hallway, hoping it would clear my mind of these troublesome thoughts that clouded my normal thoughts. Like I said before though, what was really normal any more?

As I walked down the hallway, searching for a familiar glance of Lora, the crowds of students began to disappear. I knew that I had another class after this but finding out what was wrong with my friend was more important to me. As I treaded past the girls lavatory, I heard the familiar sound of someone crying. I stopped and listened in curiously and realized that I had found just what- or whom rather- I was looking for.

I stepped quietly into the girl's restroom and sat down next to Lor on the floor.

"What's wrong?" I whispered as I gathered her in my arms. She leaned against my chest softly and I felt her shoulders heave against me.

"Sirius, my parents-" she cut herself off with another large sob.

"What happened? Are they okay?" I asked, worry striking my voice.

"No, they're divorced," she said sadly as she looked up at me. I knew how much this crushed her. She was devastated over the summer when they had told her their decision. I knew that they were finalizing their divorce soon; I just didn't know it would be this soon.

"It's going to be okay, Lor. Everything's going to be okay," I whispered to her as I rubbed her back. If only I could convince myself of that though.


	27. Chapter 26

Ch.26: Studying The Male Anatomy and A Kiss

"What's wrong?" I whispered as I gathered her in my arms. She leaned against my chest softly and I felt her shoulders heave against me.

"Sirius, my parents-" she cut herself off with another large sob.

"What happened? Are they okay?" I asked, worry striking my voice.

"No, they're divorced," she said sadly as she looked up at me. I knew how much this crushed her. She was devastated over the summer when they had told her their decision. I knew that they were finalizing their divorce soon; I just didn't know it would be this soon.

"It's going to be okay, Lor. Everything's going to be okay," I whispered to her as I rubbed her back. If only I could convince myself of that though.

-26-

"Sirius! Time to wake up!" Lora yelled for the third time. She shook me again and pulled my covers back. I curled up in a little ball to savor the quickly escaping warmth and reached down to grab my stolen sheets. Much to my annoyance though, she had thrown them on the floor. Lor drew the maroon curtains around my bed back. I thought that light would be shining through the window but nothing came. I peaked open my eyes reluctantly and saw that it was still dark outside.

"Lora, stop. What time is it?" I asked as I sat up and stretched my arms out, letting a big yawn escape out of my mouth as I did so.

"It's four in the morning," Lora perkily replied. She let herself draw out the 'g' in morning in a sing-songy way. She was already dressed and groomed, which made me wonder how a girl that normally doesn't get up until lunch time could be so awake so early in the morning.

"Then why are you up? Or better yet, why are you waking me up?" I knew that at this point, there was no way that I was going to fall back asleep so I stepped off of my four-poster bed and began to rummage around in my trunk for some clean clothes.

"I am up because I woke up, Sirius. And you are up because I woke you up so that you could come study with me! Now get up," she exclaimed loudly, causing a sleeping James to stir lightly in his bed. She quieted down for a moment to let him fall back asleep.

"I'm getting up. Let me take a shower and I'll be ready to go study with you or whatever it is you want," I said to her, quietly and slowly. She nodded as I shut the grand door behind me.

At this point, I stood alone in the cool, airy room. The windows on the far side let in the pink and orange light that the sun's arrival was giving. Most of the sky was a still a dark blue color though; stars were still twinkling in that night time sky.

I turned the knob in the shower stall and felt the scalding water fall onto my arm. Immediately, I turned the cold knob to make the water flow at a more comfortable temperature. I continued turning the hard knobs until the water was just perfect. Crawling out of my clothes, I stepped gently into the steaming shower. I sighed to myself as I let the hot water soak my dark hair and I reached for the bottle of shampoo. I continued with my normal routine with a heard a noise. I couldn't exactly place it but I knew it was familiar. After a few moments of hearing nothing, I shrugged it off and continued with my shower.

My mind raced through thoughts of finals, the Clense's divorce, and my friends. I knew that it was almost time for the final exams which is why I agreed to study with Lora when she woke me up. Plus, I just wanted to be with her. I thought about Lora's tragic reaction to her parent's even more tragic divorce. After she had stopped crying in the girl's lavatory, she seemed to clam down a bit, though she was still a mess the rest of the night. Ever since then though, she's been perkier than ever and that worries me immensely. I knew that she was hurting on the inside and I only wish that she wasn't holding it in. I knew that all of that built-up pain would have to come out eventually and the longer she held it in the bigger the impact when she finally let it out.

My thoughts then passed over to my friends. They had all grown up so much since I first met them. I mean, I remember when Lora was shy and wouldn't talk to anyone. She can still be like that around people she doesn't know but she's definitely grown to be more outgoing. So has Remus, though I know his break-up with Addie has made him crawl back into his shell somewhat. He's gotten to be more withdrawn lately, which worries me a lot. Peter's changed a little bit. He's grown to take more responsibility I think, which definitely shows through in his decision to get a tutor and better his grades before he graduates. I'm proud of him for that. Then there's James. I'm glad that my best mate hasn't changed that much. Sure, he's become more mature but we still have fun in playing pranks on people and exploring the castle grounds. He finally has Lily though. I remember in his first year when he told me that he planned on dating her. He also told me that he thought she was the prettiest girl in school and now he's got her. I know that Lora is the prettiest girl in school. If only my fate would turn out the same that James' did and then I would get to date the girl of my dreams.

"Oh, Lora," I said longingly to the empty room. I heaved a long sigh as I scrubbed my body.

"Oh, Sirius," a voice replied, giggling as she said those two words. I immediately froze and turned the knobs off, causing my warm water to stop flowing out of the shower head. I peaked my head out and saw Lora leaning against the wall opposite my shower stall. She gave a small wave to me and smiled, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to come in there while I was showering.

"Lora! What are you doing in here?" I asked, my voice faltering near the end of my question. Surprise took over my whole body when I saw her across from me. I could feel myself begin to blush and I pulled the shower curtain over to cover my exposed, wet body.

"Uh, I was waiting for you to finish so we can go study," she replied, rolling her eyes at me question. I could feel a mocking 'duh' lingering right beyond her lips. I don't know why but this only made me blush even more.

"But I'm in the middle of taking a shower-"

"No you're not," she interrupted firmly. Fire grew in her eyes but as quick as it had come, it was gone. "The water's off and now you're just talking to me. So here's a towel for you to dry off," she said, her voice turned cheery again. She handed me the dry, white, fluffy towel that I had set out for myself. I snatched the towel and quickly dried myself off.

"Hand me my boxers, please," I said quietly to Lora, shielding my face with the shower curtain in the hopes that she would not see my blushing cheeks (the ones on my face that is).

"Here you go," she replied, holding out my red and gold boxers. As I reached my hand out for them, she snatched them away while she laughed. I groaned and reached out farther, grabbing them before she could pull them away again. I quickly stepped into them, relieved that I was now wearing something instead of just being exposed.

"Can you hand me my shirt?" I asked her, hoping not for another little joke of hers. It was way too early in the morning to be joking around.

"Hmmm, if you can guess what number I'm thinking of, then I'll give you your shirt. It's somewhere in between one and a million, so start guessing," she said with a mocking grin. I rolled my eyes and leaned my head against the shower wall.

"It's one. Now give Sirius back his shirt so I can take a shower already. I mean, you already woke me up and if I'm up, I might as well get ready and look presentable for Lily," James said as he walked into the room. He was squinting his eyes shut and feeling around for the shower cell.

Lora made a face at me and threw me my shirt. I pulled it on over my head and stepped out of the shower. I stepped into my pants quickly as James pulled off his shirt.

"What are you doing in here anyway?" he asked as he blinked open his eyes. "This is the boy's room. Are you trying to spy on Sirius? Get a little action or something?" he asked, turning to Lora. She blushed deeply and replied with a firm 'no'. I couldn't help but laugh at this. She threw me a sharp glare and that immediately silenced me.

"I was waiting for him to finish so we could go study-"

"Study what?" James asked. "The male anatomy?"

"No! Now let's go Sirius," she said to me in a huff. Reluctantly I waved good-bye to James and followed Lora out of the room. I heard James snicker as I shut the door behind me.

We walked in silence as we made our way down to the library. The air between us was sharp and I felt the whole time like I was walking on eggshells. Or as if she was an unstable potion, ready to explode at any moment, no one knowing what would happen after the explosion was over. I didn't want to set her off, so I didn't say anything. Every once in a while she would say how the weather seemed like it was going to be nice or how the corridors seemed cleaner than usual but the cheeriness in her voice worried me. It sounded somewhat forced and I knew that there was something behind that, ready to strike if anything happened that didn't drip of cheerful unicorns or colorful rainbows or some mess like that.

"Here we are," she said flashing me a bright smile as we crossed the corner to were our destination was. I saw anger strike in her eyes when she saw that it was closed. I had forgotten that they didn't open the library until six thirty.

"What the hell?!" she yelled out to me. I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows; Lora rarely swore.

"It's okay," I replied, cautiously setting my hand on her shoulder. She stopped her yelling and just kind of collapsed into me. I saw tears shimmer in her eyes and my suspicions of what was going on was confirmed. "We can go outside and study." She nodded her head and followed me back down the hallway that we had just treaded. After a few more silent moments, we emerged into the crisp, warm air that lingered outside, waiting for someone to breathe it in. We walked over near the lake and sat down about a foot from its watery edge. The morning sun cast a symphony of shades or pink and orange and yellow across the brilliant blue-gray sky. The stars were merely small shimmers above our heads, hanging like a Quidditch player in mid air.

"Lora, it's okay, you know? Everything will be fine," I said quietly to her as I wrapped my arm around her slim shoulders. She leaned her head in close to me and looked up. I saw her eyes shine and the reflection of the gorgeous sky above was clear in her eyes. I found myself entranced for a moment before I shook myself out of it. Something was just pulling me to her…

"I know, we can study later when the library opens up," she replied, faking a faint smile. I shook my head.

"Lora, they love you. And sometimes two people can't stay in love forever. Sometimes, a change is just needed. They don't want to hurt you, Lor. They never have and never will. But this is what they want. I know it hurts but it's time that you grew up. For some people, love just doesn't last," I whispered to her, watching the tears bloom in her gentle eyes. I swept my thumb slowly across her cheek, wiping away a lone tear that had trickled upon its soft surface.

As I leaned down, I just couldn't help myself. I gently pressed my lips to her cheek, letting them linger there a moment longer than necessary. As I pulled away and looked at her, I saw her mouth slightly open in surprise at what I had just done.

Maybe I wouldn't have to wait until the end of the school year to tell her after all.


	28. Chapter 27

Ch.27: Consequences of a Kiss and Believing

"Lora, they love you. And sometimes two people can't stay in love forever. Sometimes, a change is just needed. They don't want to hurt you, Lor. They never have and never will. But this is what they want. I know it hurts but it's time that you grew up. For some people, love just doesn't last," I whispered to her, watching the tears bloom in her gentle eyes. I swept my thumb slowly across her cheek, wiping away a lone tear that had trickled upon its soft surface.

As I leaned down, I just couldn't help myself. I gently pressed my lips to her cheek, letting them linger there a moment longer than necessary. As I pulled away and looked at her, I saw her mouth slightly open in surprise at what I had just done.

Maybe I wouldn't have to wait until the end of the school year to tell her after all.

-27-

"Sirius," she whispered quietly to me, still gazing up into my eyes. I could see surprise and some other mystery feeling lingering together in her eyes, mixing together as she blinked. I could feel myself blushing and I bit down on my tongue to punish myself for being so rash. The pain that shot up through it was nothing compared to the feeling that my heart was sending out as it swelled up in my chest. "What was that?"

"It was just a kiss, Lora," I whispered back, somewhat embarrassed by my actions at this point. Maybe this would be the perfect time to tell her how I feel though. I mean, I've already kissed her so why not just tell her? I pondered this inner question as I stared more into her expression and I knew that after looking at what feelings were embracing her, it wasn't time to tell her yet. "You know, a kiss from a friend to friend. Nothing more, Lor." My voice somewhat faltered at the end. I immediately became disappointed in myself for lying to her like this and I just wished that I could rewind time and take back that whole kiss. Part of me did not agree with this wish though: my heart. I could still feel her soft cheek, lingering across my lips. Feeling that had given me the hope that maybe she would like me when I told her. While I was looking at her expression though, and the blatant that were spread across her stunning face, I knew that there was a pretty good chance that she didn't like me back. I was pretty sure that I saw some disgust lingering past the surprise. Once again, I was too rash to control myself.

"I'm sorry; did I disgust you by doing that?" I asked her, in a way protecting myself. No girl had ever given me that look after I kissed them and it just enjoyed me that the girl that I was so in love with wasn't thrilled by that kiss. Her mouth opened slightly as she refocused her gaze on me.

"Oh, no. I mean, I was just surprised. For a minute I thought that your intent was different than doing it as a friend. You know?" Her cheeks turned a bright read at my question and she answered quickly, rambling a bit as she did so. When she was finished answering my question, she bit down on her lip gawkily and looked up at me for a sense of understanding and normality. I gave her exactly what she wanted and nodded my head and smiling at her.

I laid back against the grass and looked straight up at the sky. It was now growing to look more like the morning sky that I would see when I woke up every morning. I rested my hands behind my shaggy head of hair and sighed at the morning's events. It seems like so long ago that Lora was shaking me to wake up. Everything was so simple then. I only hoped that things wouldn't be awkward between us now. I turned my attention then to Lora and saw her fiddling with the grass next to my waist.

"You just going to sit there?" I asked her quietly, not wanting to disturb her. It was crazy how she looked so beautiful while she just sat there, pulling up some grass. She turned her blue eyes over to me and I immediately let my eyes lock with hers. I could feel my breath being sucked out of me and my heart starting beating faster. It seemed as if the whole world around me had stopped for a moment; the trees in the Forbidden Forrest had stopped swaying in the cool breeze that had arrived alongside the arrival of the morning light. The birds stopped in mid-flight in the sky. The water on the lake had stopped rippling and the noises of the world that stood around us was suddenly muted. All there was in that quick moment was Lora and me, and I never wanted to leave.

But the exit came too soon.

"Uh, I really think that I should go study. I don't want to take up your day or anything, I know you weren't too keen on the idea anyway, so I'll just go study with Lily or someone," she replied, lowering her eyes away from mine. I saw a quiet blush forming across her simple cheeks and my heart gave a lurch at this. While I longed for her to stay with me, I waved good-bye as she got up and made her way back to the castle. I let myself rest back into a position where I was just thinking about Lora and looking at the sky. The trees had begun to sway again and the birds were back in motion. The water rippled gently next to me and the noises boomed in my ears, though they were nothing compared to the sound of my heart beat. I couldn't escape the resentment that I felt for not telling Lora.

I don't know how long I stayed out there. Hours probably; it felt like days to me though. Memories of Lora were passing through my mind, any time that was even remotely special lingered longer than the others. Her slow shaking fingertips on the day of an exam or right before a Quidditch game. Her eyes turning to bright stars that seemed not to notice any of the negative moments of life occurring around her. Strands of hair blowing out of place in the spring wind that passed by us. And then there was her smile, which shined brighter than any star in the galaxy and emanated more joy than in past time in my life. I remembered the time where I felt her palm against mine as I dragged her around the castle late at night so that she could explore it with James and I. Her quiet and nervous cautions from those nights still rang through my ears like sweet bells, chiming for the world to hear. I let myself remember the warmth her body gave me whenever we would separate for our summer vacations. I craved all of the memories again as they showed me a simpler time before I wished for Lora and had a deadline for confessing a feeling. I was knocked out of this trance as I heard footsteps approach behind me. A shadow cast over me, blocking the warm sunlight from my view. I titled my head back and saw Prongs standing behind me, looking down at me as he held some books in his hands.

"Ready to study?" he asked as he settled down next to me. I nodded solemnly and reached over for a book. I began to flip aimlessly through it's pages, not really caring what I did at this point. The upcoming deadline had stayed on my mind for a while now and it was definitely bringing me down. Worry sank my tragic heart whenever I thought about it. But thinking about kissing Lora today killed me. The look on her face basically told me that when I finally did tell her, nothing good would be coming of it.

"Sirius, what's wrong?" James asked me curiously as he held a red, open book in his hands. I guess he had noticed the pathetic look that had spread itself out across my face. Prongs wrinkled his eyebrows in worry and snapped the book shut to hear completely what I had to say.

"I kissed Lora," I replied, my voice shaking unsteadily like a frail tree trying to hold itself together as the gail blew past it. His face immediatly lit up and a big grin overshadowed the worry he had just seconds before. He clapped my back joyfully and tossed his book nonchalantly on the ground, done with his studying already after hearing my fickle news.

"That's great mate! You told her right? How you felt?" he asked excitedly, his eyes lighting up like a starving dog that had just been given a large pile of bones to snack on.

"No," I whispered, trying not to let myself fall into this slump again.

"Why not?" James asked, his happiness now erased. I could picture the annoyance of my actions building up inside of him.

"You should have seen the look on her face, James. She looked disgusted," I answered, my emotions beginning to favor anger. I spat out the word disgusting as if it was something vile itself. And in a way, it was.

"Well I saw Lora before I came out here to find you. She was acting perfectly normal, all smiles and what not. She seems to have gotten over the divorce. And I doubt she was disgusted, Sirius. Probably just surprised, that's all." I let James' words sink into my skin and made myself believe them.

While we started our studying by the rippling lake's edge, I thought about what James had said. I couldn't decide whether or not to believe him. If I listened to him and told Lora that I love her, then what if she didn't like me back? Then maybe she wouldn't want to be my friend. The fear that had gripped my heart with it's cold hands all year washed over me again. I made myself believe James though. After all, he is the one who is dating the girl of his dreams. Maybe he would know something about this.

So I let myself believe James.


	29. Chapter 28

Ch.28: The Final Exam

"I kissed Lora," I replied, my voice shaking unsteadily like a frail tree trying to hold itself together as the gail blew past it. His face immediatly lit up and a big grin overshadowed the worry he had just seconds before. He clapped my back joyfully and tossed his book nonchalantly on the ground, done with his studying already after hearing my fickle news.

"That's great mate! You told her right? How you felt?" he asked excitedly, his eyes lighting up like a starving dog that had just been given a large pile of bones to snack on.

"No," I whispered, trying not to let myself fall into this slump again.

"Why not?" James asked, his happiness now erased. I could picture the annoyance of my actions building up inside of him.

"You should have seen the look on her face, James. She looked disgusted," I answered, my emotions beginning to favor anger. I spat out the word disgusting as if it was something vile itself. And in a way, it was.

"Well I saw Lora before I came out here to find you. She was acting perfectly normal, all smiles and what not. She seems to have gotten over the divorce. And I doubt she was disgusted, Sirius. Probably just surprised, that's all." I let James' words sink into my skin and made myself believe them.

While we started our studying by the rippling lake's edge, I thought about what James had said. I couldn't decide whether or not to believe him. If I listened to him and told Lora that I love her, then what if she didn't like me back? Then maybe she wouldn't want to be my friend. The fear that had gripped my heart with it's cold hands all year washed over me again. I made myself believe James though. After all, he is the one who is dating the girl of his dreams. Maybe he would know something about this.

So I let myself believe James.

-28-

"Do we have to go?" I groaned as I tied my shoes in the common room. It was the morning of our last examination and none of us were looking forward to this particular one: Transfiguration. All night we had practiced transforming Jack into different things but finally he went crazy and started barking at all of us. Anyone who spoke got a sharp bite from his fury and he finally just scampered away to the boy's dormitory (where I later found him sleeping on my pillow. There were some weird spots on it when Jack got off so I switched my pillow with James' when he went to go brush his teeth.)

"Yeah, let's just all stay here and skip the exam," Lora offered as she toyed with Jack's ears, much to his annoyance. Things weren't weird between Lor and me anymore. After I had made my way back to the castle with James, I had pulled Lora aside and told her that I didn't want things to be weird between us over a little kiss. She had agreed and then things became normal again. I figured that I should try to hang out with her as much as possible with the little time I had left, so I definitely didn't want things to get all awkward.

Tomorrow was the day though. The day where I would finally have to take a chance and just tell Lora how I felt. Sure, I was dreading it more than anything I've ever felt in my life but I decided last night that I was going to be a man about it. If Lora didn't like me then it wasn't the end of the world. I could find a new girl maybe. While I was still unsure about this fact that I had used to comfort myself, I was stable about telling Lora. I mean, maybe she would still want to be friends with me after I rejected her, right?

"No! We studied forever last night and we all know the stuff. Now all we can do is go out there and give it our best," Lily pepped to us, putting on a convincing smile. I groaned as she pulled me up off the couch and over to the entrance way. We all followed her out of the common room and made our way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Much to our disappointment though, no one was allowed inside. Apparently it had closed early this morning and you had to be someone that never sleeps to even get down there for breakfast. So no breakfast for any of us. We slumped down against the wall and waited for fifteen minutes to go by so then we could take our exams.

"You think we'll all be in the same room?" Lora asked, turning to us for an answer.

"We weren't any other time," James replied as he stared up at the ceiling. I could practically see the wheels in his mind cranking to try and remember all of the spells that we had been taught in Transfiguration.

"Oh yeah," she muttered to herself, whispering things that McGonagall had told us in class. I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall, trying to remember everything that I had learned in that class since my first year. Of course, my mind quickly strayed from that (not like it matters. I feel plenty prepared for it.)

Today was the last full day that I would ever be a student at Hogwarts. What a depressing thought that is. I mean, I love Hogwarts. I can't even fathom what it will be like not to wake up in the dormitory any more; not to have someone clean my clothes and make me breakfast. Pretty soon I'll have to be doing all of that myself. Surprisingly enough, I'll even miss the classes. Sure, they were a huge pain when I had to study and do homework and what not but now that I don't have any more classes, I'm really going to miss them. I'm going to miss hearing Lora flirt with Slughorn or hearing McGonagall yell at us for passing notes and talking in class. This year went by so fast, I never want it to end.

I remember it seemed like just yesterday Lora was waking me up for the first day of school. So much has changed since then. I mean, we've all grown to be more mature (though can still act like children if the time is appropriate). I feel like that was a whole lifetime ago.

"Sirius Black?" a small voice said, awakening me from my memory filled trance. I looked up and saw a small boy with bright red hair. He was short, slim, pale and his hands were shaking. I could just tell that he was a first year.

"Yes?" I replied, already knowing what it was.

"They want you in the Great Hall to take your exam. Professor McGonagall sent me," he answered, his voice shaking as he spoke to me.

"Bloody 'ell, I'm right. They can't come and get me myself?" I muttered as I stood up and nodded to my friends.

"Erm, Mr.Black?" the boy asked again. I chuckled at this and asked him what he wanted to say.

"Do you know where a Lora Clense would be?" he asked, his face blushing as he asked me. He looked down at his shuffling feet when he was done.

"Right here. They want me too?" she asked as she stood to her feet. The first year nodded and walked away.

"Well, let's go rock this," I said as we waved goodbye to our friends and made our way into the Great Hall.

The whole room was split up into little tents. Occasionally a student would emerge from one of the booths, a terror filled look masking their face. Sometimes you would see someone that looked a little confident but most of them just looked worried as they emerged into the fresh air and began to exit. One kid told Lora and me "good luck" as he walked past us. I heard him mutter under his breath, "You're gonna need it."

"Black, Sirius!" a prefect called out a few feet away from me. I whispered a quick good luck to Lora and made my way over to the prefect. He simply pointed in the direction of one of the many tents. I saw which one he was pointing to though and made my way over to it, gripping my wand tightly in my hand. In my mind I was trying to remember every little thing that McGonagall had ever told me and I silently chastised myself for not taking the time in the hallway and in the common room to study more. I pushed open the curtain dividing the testing area and me and let myself emerge into the room. I'm almost positive that I had a most nervous expression plastered upon my face.

"Sirius Black?" a small man asked in a monotone voice. He was looking down at a sheet of paper and didn't even look up at me as I nodded.

"Turn this into a green duckling," he said briskly, still not looking at me. I saw him motioning though to a quill on the table. I racked my brain for a second as to how to do this and then muttered the spells under my breath. Much to my delight, a small green duckling appeared on the table and began quacking at me. Granted its color was more of a blue-green but still, it was green. My heart skipped a beat nervously as the test conductor looked at the duckling and muttered something to a stout blonde woman next to him. She shook her head to answer his silent question and that made me nervous. After a few more times of completing his demands, I was allowed to go.

As I exited the tent in a rush, I glanced around the room for Lora. I didn't see her any where so I went ahead and exited the Great Hall. I rejoined Lily, James, Remus and Peter, who were all still seated in the hallway, and told them about how my exam went.

"Sounds like it went very well, Sirius," Lily said with a smile as James clapped my back. I nodded and glanced toward the large, wooden door for what seemed like the hundredth time. To my sheer joy, I saw Lora coming towards us.

"How'd it go?" I asked as she settled in next to me.

"Over all pretty well. I think I missed one though because I don't know how to turn a bloody shoe lace into a mongoose," she said, wrinkling up her nose at this last bit. We all laughed at this and continued to carry on talking in the hallway.

The day went by really fast. We all decided that we did really well on our exams except for Lily; apparently she freaked out on one of the questions and turned a spoon into a giant, rainbow colored trout instead of a mouse. But we were all still convinced that we did good. Before I knew it, I was lying down to go to sleep.

The last thought I had in my mind was that tomorrow was the day where I told Lora how I felt, and for the first time in months, I wasn't nervous about it.


	30. Chapter 29

Ch. 29: Graduation

The day went by really fast. We all decided that we did really well on our exams except for Lily; apparently she freaked out on one of the questions and turned a spoon into a giant, rainbow colored trout instead of a mouse. But we were all still convinced that we did good. Before I knew it, I was lying down to go to sleep.

The last thought I had in my mind was that tomorrow was the day where I told Lora how I felt, and for the first time in months, I wasn't nervous about it.

-29-

I sighed again as I stared out of the large, clear window. I was in the boy's dormitory, sitting on the large sill next to the glass wall. I didn't sleep well though the night, probably because dreams of losing Lora plagued my mind continuously. I would wake up in the middle of the night, soaked in resentment with sorrow trickling down the back of my neck. Hope seemed lost for the morning time but worry had taken it's place, making my fragile heart heavy.

The sun was just peaking over the dark horizon. Simple rays of light frayed across the edge of the distance. No fair stars hung in the heavy sky above of us and clouds instead took their space, blanketing the dark world high over me. They gave no sign of rain but they still foreshadowed my dark fate. Maybe they would give way to light though; perhaps the sun would peak out in between their lofty covers and would rise to fill the sky with the beaming streams of joy. Those beams would dry up every tear that I had ever had and would bring a new love into my life, whose would be called-

"Lora," I whispered to the world around me, not receiving an answer from it's cold, unwavering silence. The only response that I received was a simple nuzzle from Jack, who was sitting, sleeping, in my arms. I had found him at the foot of my bed when I stirred this morning and he decided to follow me to the window and resume his nap there.

Two small birds fly across the sky together in unison, their spirits intertwined. Perhaps that could Lora and I; intertwined emotionally…maybe physically. I laughed to myself at this and continued to look out of the window, my mind now racing to close thoughts of leaving the home I had known for so long now: Hogwarts.

I remembered the first day that I ever came to Hogwarts, a small, nervous boy trying to hide his nervousness. Then I met James and we immediately became best friends. It was just a connection we had. After that we invited Remus then Peter to join into our friendship and thus formed The Marauders. After all of this time we've all still stuck together and remained faithful to one another. Sure, there have been a few fights, whether they were of verbal or physical means, but we've always fused back together in the end. We've been through so much together: Remus telling us he was a werewolf was a major thing. But we helped him through it and we still are. Then we all became Animagi's together, which was a bond that we would never lose. We've been through many different girlfriends, bad and good grades, injuries and various victories. James saved me from my own family and invited me into his. That was something I would never forget. I didn't ever want to leave my friends and I knew deep down that I would never really have to. However large the distance between us would be, we would always be best friends. We would always be The Marauders.

"We'll always be friends," I whispered once again, stating this fact for the world to hear. I heard someone chuckle and I looked over to see James watching me. He nodded as he got up and sat across from me on the sill.

"Yeah, we'll always be The Marauders," he agreed as he turned his vision to the world next to us. The sun was now entering our side of the world and was casting it's warm and welcoming light into our window, though it was still somewhat dark outside.

"How long have you been up?" I asked curiously, turning to James for his answer.

"Ever since you said 'Lora'," he replied, sending me a comforting smile. I nodded and continued to look outside as I rubbed Jack's back gently. "It'll be okay Sirius. No matter what happens out there, you and Lora will always be friends," James said as he built up my heart again. Hearing him say this made my heavy and hard heart a bit lighter and softer.

"I just want to be more than that," I replied softly. Being friends with Lora meant the world to me but I still wanted to be something more. I wanted to be able to hold her and tell her that I love her and listen as she said the same to me. I wanted to be able to settle down with her one day and start a family.

"Oh, you will be," James chuckled as he stood back up and gathered some clothes that he had set out for himself last night. We had packed all of our stuff up so that we didn't have to do it in the morning and that meant that we had to set our clothes for today and our robe out on top of our trunks. Our dormitory seemed so empty without the pictures, frames, broken quills and letters from home that normally littered our bedstand tables. The dirty clothes and trash that we had kicked under our beds were cleaned out and now the room looked just as it did when we arrived at the beginning of this year and every year before it. This had been my home for the past seven years and for years before this one we had had to clean it out just like we have done before. The only different thing about it was that we wouldn't be coming back next year.

"Morning," Remus muttered as he woke up Peter and made his way over to us. I replied with a 'good morning' to both of them and got up myself to get ready for the day ahead. For the next hour I proceeded to wait for James to finish taking a shower. Then I took a shower myself and continued to get ready for the big day ahead. When all four of us were finished, about two hours later, we made our way down to the common room in high spirits for the day ahead of us. Lora was sitting down on the couch in the common room, chatting quietly with Lily. When she saw us coming down, her bright, blue eyes lit up and she smiled as she motioned for us to come sit down with them. I nested onto the couch next to her with Jack at my heels. He jumped onto Lora's lap and she rubbed his back as she bid him a good morning.

"He was with you all night?" she asked as she looked up to me. I nodded as I raised my hand to my mouth to cover the yawn that was escaping out into the red and gold plastered room. "Jack, I thought you were sleeping with me last night," she said as she laughed to the young pup. He barked in reply though none of us had the slightest clue as to what he was trying to say.

"Well he gets around," James joked as he wrapped his arm around Lily, sending a gentle smile and blush onto her face. Lora threw a pillow at him as we all laughed. She rolled her eyes at me as I made a face at her, showing off my immaturity.

"Morning, all," McGonagall said as she strode into the room, more sprightly than usual. We were all somewhat surprised to see her in our common room; after all, she hardly ever came in here except to post things up for us to find out about but no one ever saw her doing that. I think the last time she came in here and we saw her was before our first Quidditch match against Slytherin. Even that was a surprise though (not the win but seeing her in there was a surprise.)

"Morning, Professor," we chimed as she strode over to us. She had a nice smile on her face, which was even rarer than seeing her in our homely common room.

"Are you all ready for the day's events?" she asked as she stood in front of us. We nodded in unison. "Good. Goodness, I can't believe that you lot are graduating Hogwarts today. It seemed like just yesterday that I was calling your names to be sorted. Oh, it didn't seem that long ago that Mr.Black, Mr. Potter and Ms. Clense were causing trouble in my class too."

"Oh, I think that was last week actually," I joked. We all laughed casually and I noticed a tear forming in McGonagall's eye. She wiped it away quickly though.

"Well, I was looking for the six of you so I'm glad I found you. Dumbledore would like a word with later on after you all graduate, understand?" she said, her briskness back in her voice now. We nodded and she bid us a farewell as she exited the common room.

"Mum and Dad should be here and minute now so do you want to go see if they're here?" James asked me as he stood up, still clutching onto Lily's hand. I looked over and saw that she had a nervous expression running across her and I just figured that it was because she was about to meet her boyfriend's parents. I nodded and soon enough all six of us were on our way down to the Great Hall to see if any of the parents were allowed into the school grounds yet. I saw of a few of the graduating students chatting with their parents as they roamed the school along the way down there and soon enough, I saw Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

"Oh, James! Sirius!" Mrs. Potter said as she rushed over to give us a hug. I blushed as Lora giggled. Over James' mum's shoulder I saw Mr. Potter walking over, laughing to himself.

"Hey Mummy," James said, smiling broadly as he hugged his mum. His dad came forward and gave me a warm hello. After we were finished greeting his parents, James pulled a stiff Lily over. She blushed deeply and muttered a small hello.

"This is Lily-"

"Oh, you're Lily? Oh James never stops talking about you," Mrs. Potter interrupted. I saw James blush a deeper red than Lily's hair and give his mum a warning eye. Lora and I giggled profusely at this and had to cover our mouths to hide it.

"Mum! This is Lily. She's my boo," James said, which only made me and Lora laugh harder, even making Remus laugh this time. Lily grew a deeper red though and bit her lip.

"You're what?" Mr. Potter asked, breaking his silence. Both of James' parents had puzzled looks on their faces at what James had said.

"My boo. You know, my girlfriend," Prongs replied, rolling his eyes at his parent's unknowingness of the word 'boo'.

"Oh, James. Just say girlfriend then," his mother muttered as she reached over and gave Lily a hug. James' 'boo' seemed completely surprised by this but returned the hug gratefully.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lily," Mr. Potter said as he shook her hand gently. She nodded and smiled that his parents were warming to her.

Soon enough, everyone's parents were there (except for mine of course). Lora's parents came separately shortly after we greeted James' parents. Her mum came first, who looks a ton like Lora. They both have the same dark brown hair and the slim figure but the only difference is that her mum has hazel eyes, not blue. Plus her mum is just strict and not as fun as Lora so she didn't have that joyful air about her. Then her dad came a moment later and Lora's dad is awesome. He jokes around a lot so that's where Lora get's her humor from. Plus he's where she gets her blue eyes from. Those are the only resemblances they share because her dad is bald.

After that Lily's family arrived, somewhat frightened by the wizarding world around them. Lily's sister looked like she had just swallowed a lemon with her face as pinched up like that. Her attitude was just as sour as a lemon also. But Lily's parents loved James and had a nice time talking to Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I think it took away some of their nervousness to be at the wizarding school to talk to his parents who were so down to earth and just kind of normal parents. They had a nice time talking to Lora's dad but her mum kind of stayed silent the whole time. It was obvious that she didn't want to be anywhere near Mr. Clense.

Remus' parents were next to come, both kind of resembling Remus. They both had a gentle face and looked pleased to see him. I could see that he got his blonde hair from his dad because his mum had kind of light brown hair that came in waves. I heard whisper to him to make sure that he was okay and he nodded, happy to see him.

Peter's mum and dad were last, both very closely resembling him. The Pettigrew's were all short and squat, and both his mum and dad had the same blue, watery eyes that he had. Soon enough all of our parents were chatting happily (except for Lora's mum. She went off somewhere to go have a smoke I think.) Professor McGonagall interrupted though, telling us that it was time for the six of us to go ahead and get inside of the Great Hall to get ready to graduate. I saw Mrs. Potter tearing up and she gave James and I one last hug before we left to go get our places in the Great Hall. After what seemed about half an hour of putting us in the order in which we would go and then getting us all presentable, they finally released the parents in. I saw all of our parents sit together near the front. Much to my surprise, I saw Regulus come in too, sitting down near the back. He gave me a quick smile and wave as he glanced at me. Regulus and I weren't very close, seeing as he always took more to listening to my parents and letting himself be brainwashed by them, but it was somewhat comforting to see him there. I waved and smiled in reply as Dumbledore called the event to order.

"Hello graduates, family, and friends. It has been seven years since these students walked through those entrance doors and were called up to be sorted," Dumbledore started, already setting off some tears in the audience. I tuned out the rest of the speech because I really didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to hear how this was the last time that I would probably ever be in the Great Hall. I didn't want to hear about how I was growing up and how I would never come back to Hogwarts. I didn't want to have to listen to him go on about how much I've grown up and how proud he is that we are growing into adults. I didn't want to leave Hogwarts, so I didn't want to listen to his speech. All of the graduates were seated in the front of the audience, a few rows dedicated to us. We were seated in alphabetical order by last name so Lora was only a few people away. I glanced down to her and saw that she was tuning out the speech too, instead deciding to twirl her fingers around. I smiled and she looked up at me, tears forming in her eyes. 'It's okay,' I mouthed to her. She nodded and smiled back to me. There was that sparkle in her eye that I loved so much-

"Hey, get up," the Hufflepuff to my left said to me. I saw that it was time for our row to get up and go graduate. I stood up reluctantly and followed the other people in my line. Soon enough, it was my time.

"Sirius Black," Dumbledore said as I walked forward. I heard of ton of familiar voices cheer as I shook his hand and took my diploma. I smiled as he clapped me on the back and moved on to the next person. Minerva gave me a quick hug and I saw that she had tears in her eyes. 'Thank you' I mouthed to her, not wanting to speak myself for fear that I too might get emotional. She nodded and smiled to me. I kept walking and made it back to my seat.

_I've graduated Hogwarts_ a voice whispered in my head and I had to choke back tears for a moment. When I looked up again, I saw Lora receiving her diploma. She nodded and made her way to Minerva, sobbing as she did so. The hugged each other for a moment and exchanged some words before Minerva nodded and Lora made her way over. I stood up as she came and gave her a hug, letting her wipe her tears on my dress robe. I watched as the rest of my friends graduated, first coming Lily, then Remus, then Peter and finally Prongs.

"Alexander Zabini," Dumbledore called out, letting the last person graduate. After he was seated and Dumbledore gave another short speech, he congratulated us and made it official that we were no longer students at Hogwarts. All of the students cheered and parents rose to their feet in a mixture of clapping and crying. I reached over to Lora and gave her a big hug. She replied with one and I felt her tears trickle down my neck. I looked over her shoulder to James and he gave me a wink.

With all of the parents and students in the Great Hall and no longer in their seats, they place was chaotic. It was nearly impossible to find anyone you were looking for. So I grabbed Lora's hand and began pulling her towards the grand, wooden doors that would let us exit the chaotic room. She held close to me and soon enough, we emerged into fresh air. I didn't let go of her hand as we strolled in silence over to the still lake.

The world around us was growing darker, transforming into night. A glimmer of light was still out there and the lightning bugs were roaming around the grounds, making it simply gorgeous outside. Perfect for what I was about to do.

"Lora," I said quietly as my heart began to beat fast. She looked up at me, listening for what I had to say.

"I…I love you Lora Clense."


	31. Chapter 30

Ch.30: Love Makes You Crazy

"Alexander Zabini," Dumbledore called out, letting the last person graduate. After he was seated and Dumbledore gave another short speech, he congratulated us and made it official that we were no longer students at Hogwarts. All of the students cheered and parents rose to their feet in a mixture of clapping and crying. I reached over to Lora and gave her a big hug. She replied with one and I felt her tears trickle down my neck. I looked over her shoulder to James and he gave me a wink.

With all of the parents and students in the Great Hall and no longer in their seats, they place was chaotic. It was nearly impossible to find anyone you were looking for. So I grabbed Lora's hand and began pulling her towards the grand, wooden doors that would let us exit the chaotic room. She held close to me and soon enough, we emerged into fresh air. I didn't let go of her hand as we strolled in silence over to the still lake.

The world around us was growing darker, transforming into night. A glimmer of light was still out there and the lightning bugs were roaming around the grounds, making it simply gorgeous outside. Perfect for what I was about to do.

"Lora," I said quietly as my heart began to beat fast. She looked up at me, listening for what I had to say.

"I…I love you Lora Clense."

-30-

The sky around me had darkened and the sounds of my fellow graduates and their celebrating families were growing louder by the second. I could see the warm lights spilling out of various Hogwarts windows, though most of it emanated from the Great Hall's cracked doors. I watched as parents walked their children out of the large dining hall and out into the corridors, anxiously ready to take them home to celebrate further. The ex-students were still spending the night at Hogwarts though, and in the morning we would all ride that one final ride on the Hogwarts Express. I sighed as I sat down on the warm grass and stared at the water.

Lora had already left and made her way back to the castle to rejoin her family and friends. I felt a blush creeping up onto my cheeks again at even the thought of how I had told Lora how I loved her. My heart sank somewhat like a rowing boat, destroyed in the middle of the ocean, waiting to fall to the depths of the cold water, at her reaction…

_"I…I love you Lora Clense," I whispered to her, my heart beating quickly as I anticipated and cowered from her reply._

_To calm myself down, I glanced at the lakes center. The stars were swimming among the fishes, occasionally bumping into one another. The water rippled in the slight breeze that glided by and I saw a glimpse of the moon that hung overhead, shining down upon the Hogwarts grounds. It was the only thing keeping the overwhelming dark and diamond spotted sky from overtaking us. Small lightning bugs flickered around us and under some of the weeping willow trees that hung a few yards away. They swayed slightly in the cool night air, though I could feel myself burning up. _

_So I raised my eyes to the sky instead. The stars were clustered together above me, hanging there as if they were strung by a string through a dark piece of paper. I tried to transfer all of my focus on them so that this stinging in my heart would dull some. It didn't. My eyes became blurry from focusing so hard, or maybe just from the nervousness that you get when you tell your best mate that you're in love with her, and I watched as the stars began to collide together. Their ends would expand and began to touch one another, mocking fingers that left their comfort and pressed itself against another finger, absorbing the warmth that it shared and feeling the pulse underneath the skin. _

_The stars began to form a spider web in the sky, connecting to one another as if they knew what they were doing. I felt my light heart rise up and become entangled in their web. My feelings protruded out and spilled across the sky. I almost expected to feel all of my emotions of the past year to come dripping down on me, love, anger, and all. Twisting and churning its way out of the web, my nervousness washed over me again. I was lost in my fictional sky for a moment before Lora snapped me out of it._

_"You what?" she asked simply, her bright blue eyes that I had so often dreamed about staring right into my soul. While her response to my confession was simple, I felt like it was a massive rock, hurtling down from sky and crushing my heart. Just seeing the look in her eyes, I already had a good feeling that tonight was not going to be the night that I had anticipated. This was not going to be the night that James had promised would happen. And this would not be the night that I would finally be dating the girl of my dreams. _

_"I love you Lora," I repeated, my voice not trembling this time. My emotions had died in that twinkling web when they saw Lora. I knew my friend well enough to know that I was right all along; the only feelings she had for me were friendly feelings, though I doubt that we will even have that now. The lights in the sky seemed to have dulled down a bit and the only thing I heard was the slowing beat of my heart. I had tuned the buzzing of the bees and the cheering from the families inside Hogwarts warm walls. All I felt now was nothing. My heart had slowed down to a steady beat and part of me just wished it would stop so that I wouldn't have to take any more of this. It was a mistake even telling Lora and I wished in that moment that I could just go back in time and prevent a younger me from even meeting her. _

_Then I took it back._

_I'd always love Lor. Even if she despised me with every fiber of her soul and being, I would always be in love with her. I would always know that she was amazing and sweet and that she genuinely cared about other people. She would always be the closest thing to perfect in my eyes. I could never erase the feelings that dwelled inside of me. And to be honest, I would never want to erase those feelings. I love the way Lora makes me feel and I never wanted to forget that I loved her. I never want to stop loving her. _

_"Sirius…I don't-"_

_"I'm sorry," I interrupted, feeling myself blush. "I guess you don't love me and I'm sorry that I made this weird for you. That's not what I wanted. I just wanted to tell you how I feel and I mean, it's okay that you don't feel that way about me. I just wanted to let you know. How I feel, I mean. We can still be friends though Lora, you don't have to stop being my friend because of this. I mean, you're one of my best friends and I never want to lose you. As a friend, I mean. And as a person. I mean, I love you. Obviously, I've already told you that. But, um, I mean…everything would just suck without you." Internally chastising myself for rambling on like an idiot, I shut my mouth and looked to Lora. I could see her blushing profusely, even through the dark night sky. As my eyes became adjusted to her, I could see her biting her lip, though she only did that when she was nervous. What did Lora have to be nervous about? I'm the one spilling my heart out and getting rejected here. _

_"Don't interrupt me again," she replied sharply, dropping her nervousness as she snapped at me. My blush lit up and I nodded shortly. "I never said I didn't like you, Sirius," she said to me, cutting her eyes a little bit. I knew she hated it when people told her how she felt. I looked at her, joy overtaking my heart now. _

_She saw this and quickly added, "I never said that I like you though." Confusion swelled up inside of me and immediately I just had the insane urge to laugh. I was probably just going crazy though. I heard that love can make you do that. _

_"I don't know how I feel about you Sirius. So don't be an idiot and just assume that I don't like you. I have my own feelings you know," she mentioned, perking up a hint of an attitude at that last part. "I don't know exactly how I feel about you. I just…need time to think about it. That's all." She nodded to herself at this and looked down to her shuffling feet. Hope filtered inside of me and I responded with an open 'okay'. She made a quick excuse to go find her family and flocked off toward the castle. I turned my back to Hogwarts though and looked straight on at the lake and all of its glowing lightning bugs. They glow swarmed onto my like how the hope filled up in my chest and I felt better about the whole situation. _

_She_ might _like me. Hearing that made me definitely feel better and I nodded at this, letting a smile take over. _

While I sat on the grass thinking about all of this, I felt a pair of hands rest on my shoulders and as I turned to look back, a pair of warm lips gently fell upon mine. I could feel the warmth flooding to my face as I blinked open my eyes and saw Lora standing there flashing her bright smile at me. I could stop a smile from spreading across my face as she let her hands rest still upon my shoulders.

"You coming?" she asked me. I nodded as I got up and followed her towards the castle.

Maybe I would be able to date the girl of my dreams after all.


	32. Chapter 31

Ch.31: Welcome to the Order

_"I don't know how I feel about you Sirius. So don't be an idiot and just assume that I don't like you. I have my own feelings you know," she mentioned, perking up a hint of an attitude at that last part. "I don't know exactly how I feel about you. I just…need time to think about it. That's all." She nodded to herself at this and looked down to her shuffling feet. Hope filtered inside of me and I responded with an open 'okay'. She made a quick excuse to go find her family and flocked off toward the castle. I turned my back to Hogwarts though and looked straight on at the lake and all of its glowing lightning bugs. They glow swarmed onto my like how the hope filled up in my chest and I felt better about the whole situation. _

_She_ might _like me. Hearing that made me definitely feel better and I nodded at this, letting a smile take over. _

While I sat on the grass thinking about all of this, I felt a pair of hands rest on my shoulders and as I turned to look back, a pair of warm lips gently fell upon mine. I could feel the warmth flooding to my face as I blinked open my eyes and saw Lora standing there flashing her bright smile at me. I could stop a smile from spreading across my face as she let her hands rest still upon my shoulders.

"You coming?" she asked me. I nodded as I got up and followed her towards the castle.

Maybe I would be able to date the girl of my dreams after all.

-31-

"Come this way," McGonagall's voice called out, hurrying us down the empty, dark corridor to the headmaster's office. We were all a bit on edge seeing as she had pulled us out of our small celebration on the grounds with our parents. She had told us that Dumbledore had something important he wanted to talk to us about. The sense of dread still lingered over my high spirits, pushing them down some with the horrid mood it brought. I was sure that he was going to tell us that we couldn't graduate or that we had to do some kind of summer-school activity type thing since we've misbehaved so much during our years at Hogwarts. The only part that confused me though was the fact that he had wanted to see Peter, Lily and Remus too. I could understand James and I, maybe even Lora, but not Lily, Peter and Remus. The only sense I could make out of it was that they hung out with us so maybe that made them troublemakers by association?

The hallway was only illuminated by the white light that poured in from the tall windows, emanating from the moon. I could still hear the celebrations outside of these stone walls as parents rejoiced with their children, waiting for the moment that they could take them home. Though most of them were gone now. It was mainly just our small group that had stayed behind, to enjoy the presence of this stone school for just a few moments longer. I heard a few portraits calling out congratulations to us as we passed by them, still following our now ex-Transfiguration teacher.

I felt Lora tremble as she walked next to me in silence. I looked over to see that her face was glowing in the moons light. Her eyes shined as she looked curiously ahead in her pursuit following McGonagall. Her dark brown hair was resting gently on top of her pale skin, which seemed translucent in the lighting. Her hands shook slightly in the cold, still air that was present in the corridors. She bit down gently on her bottom lip and I could see that behind her stunning face, her mind was quickly trying to work out why we were going to see the headmaster. If I listened carefully I could hear her gently breathing in and out. Her sweet scent wrapped around me as I carefully set my hand on her mid-back to calm her down. For a split second I thought I saw a small smile, though the blush on her previously pale cheeks stayed in place a bit longer. I saw her peak at me out of the corner of her eyes before she looked back ahead, her breathing more relaxed now.

I heard James laugh in smug manner as I grinned at my small accomplishment, though it felt like a lot more to me.

"Here we are, now hurry up," McGonagall stressed in the seconds that it took for her to reach the headmasters door, whisper the password, and for the door to reveal the spiraling staircase that I had seen oh too many times before.

"Well this is unfamiliar," James joked under his breath as the seven of us treaded up the stone stairs, clutching to the flat wall for support. I could easily picture Lora, who was in front of me, falling back and knocking us over in a Domino effect.

Prong's comment only earned him a small chuckle from me and a dull glare from McGonagall as she grew impatient with our slow steps. Finally we stumbled into Dumbledore's round office. Large windows faced toward the empty Quidditch pitch, which brought a strange, unrecognizable feeling to me, seeing it so empty. The memories of playing out there, with the crowd cheering and filled to the brim with students flashed in my mind briefly before I returned my attention back to the room.

Where there were no windows, pictures of former headmasters cluttered along the walls. Most were either absent or snoozing away gently in their frames. Though some had been abruptly awoken when we made our somewhat loud entrance. These few were obviously a bit annoyed and went back to their deep sleep. One picture stood out in particular to me though. To the untrained eyes of this office, he would have appeared to be gently sleeping in his armchair, though I had seen him enough to know that he was so obviously faking it while he eavesdropped on the conversation that was about to be held. I had seen Phineas Black, my great-great grandfather, do it several times. Often though he stayed back at Grimmauld Place, listening to whatever was happening there. He liked to be kept in the loop you know, whether he was dead or alive. I scoffed at him and could have sworn that I saw him cut a glare at me before quickly resuming his faux-sleeping.

"Thank you for coming," a voice spoke up, startling me from my trance. I swiftly turned my head to look at Dumbledore and I have to admit that I was somewhat surprised at what I saw. All of the joy and sparkle that had been in his eyes previously were gone now. This was not the headmaster I knew, and immediately I knew that this was about much more than just misbehaving.

"I hope none of you mind that I had to remove you for a moment from your celebration but time is of the essence these days," he continued, not waiting for us to reply to his greeting. "I'll try to make this quick; the wizarding world, as you know, is in serious danger. I am sure that you have all heard of the attacks that Voldemort-" Peter winced at his name and I could feel Lora shiver next to me. I rubbed her back gently with my thumb while Dumbledore continued, ignoring the reactions."-has been spreading. The number of people left dead is growing with every passing day. And I've been putting together a…project to try and stop that. I am recruiting the best wizards and witches to join me in the fight against Voldemort, and that is where the six of you come in. I want you to join the Order of the Phoenix and help defeat Voldemort." As he looked at our shocked expressions, he adding quickly, "Of course normally I would give you all time to think about this but like I said, time is of the essence."

Many thoughts flashed through my mind in the seconds after he declared this. Most of which I do not remember. I did think about the wizarding world though; I knew that it was in trouble. Many people had begun losing their loved ones and that shattered my heart. I remembered back to a time where I was being told that one day I would be able to assist You-Know-Who. This brought hot anger to a boiling point in my chest and I had to breath slowly to calm myself down. Then my mind flipped to Lora. If Lora and I ever did get together, I would want the world to be a safe place for her. And what if we started a family together one day? I wouldn't want them to be afraid of the world around of them. As I thought about all of this, a voice interrupted my thinking.

"Ill join," James declared, brave in his decision. I heard Lily let out a small gasp and watched as James let his hand touch hers gently. They let a silent conversation pass through their eyes and Lily nodded curtly to herself.

"Me too," she spoke up, her voice not wavering as she said so. She clutched onto her beau's hand tightly as he smiled down to her.

"I'm in," I said, a strange sense of excitement growing inside of me. This was what I'd wanted for so long. To be able to undo the wrong doing that my parents and ancestors before me had taken such a large part in. I wanted to prove that I wasn't like them; that I could help people. I saw Lora look up to me, her eyes brimming with tears. Admiration shone brightly through that though as she nodded her head. "I'd like to join," she said as she turned her direction back to Dumbledore. In seconds Remus agreed along with us, shortly followed by Peter confirming that he was in. Joy returned to our old headmaster's eyes as he nodded happily and thanked us.

"Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix. I'll be in touch with you shortly," he said as we turned to leave. "Oh, and one more thing," he said, catching our attention. "Congradulations are graduation today. Hogwarts will be a different place without the six of you. It will be refreshing not to roam the corridors worried about whether or not a dung bomb would land on my head," he said jokingly, looking straight at me and James. We laughed and bid our brief farewells as we headed back down the stairwell. McGonagall did not come with us though.

While walking back down the corridor, for the last time, I lingered behind with Lora at my side. The other four were a few yards ahead of us but this was how I wanted it.

"You were brave in there," I told her as I looked down once more at her. She smiled to herself and whispered a quiet, "you too." Silence took over between us after that but it was okay, just having her there with me was enough to mend my fragile heart. I could feel the warmth from her hand, which remained next to mine as we walked down the empty hall. Before I knew it we were outside once more, walking towards our parents. We all finally exchanged good-byes and began to go our separate ways.

As Lor reached up to give me a hug, she whispered in my ear, "You'll have to send me a letter to tell me when." Confusion was spread plainly across my face as I let her out of my arms, reluctantly.

"When what?" I asked her, puzzled at what she had said.

"For our date of course," she said, a bright smile dominating over her gentle face. I opened my mouth to say something when I realized that I had nothing to say. Instead I just let a big, goofy smile take over and I nodded. As she turned to follow her dad, she gave me a quick wink, sending my heart crazy.


	33. Chapter 32

Ch.32: The Date

"You were brave in there," I told her as I looked down once more at her. She smiled to herself and whispered a quiet, "you too." Silence took over between us after that but it was okay, just having her there with me was enough to mend my fragile heart. I could feel the warmth from her hand, which remained next to mine as we walked down the empty hall. Before I knew it we were outside once more, walking towards our parents. We all finally exchanged good-byes and began to go our separate ways.

As Lor reached up to give me a hug, she whispered in my ear, "You'll have to send me a letter to tell me when." Confusion was spread plainly across my face as I let her out of my arms, reluctantly.

"When what?" I asked her, puzzled at what she had said.

"For our date of course," she said, a bright smile dominating over her gentle face. I opened my mouth to say something when I realized that I had nothing to say. Instead I just let a big, goofy smile take over and I nodded. As she turned to follow her dad, she gave me a quick wink, sending my heart crazy.

-32-

"How do I look?" I asked nervously as I loosened my tie again. I glanced at my reflection in James' mirror again, making sure that everything was how it was supposed to look. All I saw when I looked though was a nervous wanker who was way overdressed in a tuxedo. But the place I was taking Lora was fancy and I wanted to look nice. After all, you only get one first date with the girl of your dreams right? If I screwed this up then that was my only chance with her, destroyed by whatever mistake I had made. Another wave of worry washed over me as I sat down on the plush bed behind me.

"Sexy," James replied as he looked over at me. He had been laughing at my nervousness all afternoon, which I found was rather odd because if I remember correctly, he had forgotten how to get dressed on the day of his first date with Lily. "But you look like an idiot with that tie on."

"No he doesn't. He's taking her someone nice; he needs to look nice," Remus cut it. It was his idea that I wore the tie.

"When has he ever worn a tie? Even in Hogwarts he didn't wear ties! I don't even know if he knows how to tie a tie," James exclaimed, walking around the room in an excited manner.

"I know how to tie a tie," I mumbled to myself as I tied my shoes. I glanced at myself in their shiny reflection and saw that the angst that I was feeling on the inside was shown plain across my face. Mentally, I tried to calm myself down, telling myself that she would still be my friend, even if things didn't work out. But now my feelings for Lora were far beyond friendship and I knew that could never go back to being content with that. I could never be able to just talk to her, friend to friend, knowing that I would still be in love with her and that things would never work out with us. If tonight didn't work out, then that was it. I couldn't be friends with Lora any more.

"Sirius, take the tie off, you look like an accountant or something," James snapped at me. I knew he was ready for me to leave so then him and Remus could go and listen to Lily talk about how Lora was before I came to pick her up. Plus James just missed his girlfriend. She had been spending most of the week with Lora.

"Fine. It was choking me anyway," I said as I pulled it off and tossed it onto the bed. Rubbing my neck for a moment, I looked back in the mirror. I looked a bit better. I shook around my hair a bit and unbuttoned the buttons on my jacket until I was finally content with how I looked.

"Sirius, love, isn't it time for you to go pick Lora up?" James' mum called to us from the bottom of the stairs. We all stood there awkwardly for a moment, realizing that our time was up.

"Uh, yeah, I'll go ahead and go," I called to her as I exited the room. Prongs and Moony trailed behind me down wooden stairs and finally onto the carpeted floor. I picked up the daisies I had bought for her earlier in the day, that had, until now, been resting in a clear vase of water, and made my way over to the door.

"Well, wish my luck," I said as I grabbed the keys for my motorcycle (which was a graduation gift from the Potters. James was given a brand new racing broom).

"Oh, you don't need it dear," Mrs. Potter whispered to me kindly as she brushed something off of the front of my jacket. "The two of you will have a lovely time." She looked up at me with one last smile before I opened the door. I muttered my good byes to them and headed outside towards my bike.

It shined brightly in the glow from the setting sun. I buckled on my helmet and held tight to the flowers in one hand as I shoved my key in and revved up the bike. I kicked my foot off the ground and took flight into the quickly darkening sky.

Before I knew it was I was landing in front of the Clense's house. I hadn't been there very often before, mainly because most of the times I was there Lora's parents had been yelling at each other. That was just uncomfortable so Lora normally just came over to the Potter's to hang out.

I pulled up into the driveway and climbed off. I looked up at the large house that let its shadow fall over me. It really was a gorgeous house, with its Victorian detailing and all the porches on both the first and second floor. The circular window in the attic was reflecting the sunset behind me. I noticed while looking up that a pair of green eyes were looking at me out of a second floor bedroom: Lora's room. When Lily saw me she quickly looked away and slammed the curtain shut. I saw her shadow run from the window until it was no longer in my view. I sighed as I walked under the tall, grand trees in the front yard and toward the front porch. The steps creaked underneath of me as I made my way up to the front door, which let the light from the inside of the house pass through it's curtained covered windows.

As I reached my hand out to knock on the door, I heard heavy footsteps from inside and a female voice yell out in an annoyed tone, "Dad!" Before I knew what was happening, Mr. Clense had opened up the door, smiling at me. He stood in the middle of the doorway, blocking my path, so I assumed that I wasn't just going to be invited in. I looked over his shoulder and saw Lily walking up the stairs, laughing and calling something out to someone up the stairs.

"Hello Sirius," Lora's dad said to me as he stepped out onto the porch and shut the door behind him. Immediately I became tense and my mind began racing, trying to figure out what was going on. His smile seemed plastered on and his eyes seemed to study me as I greeted him quietly back.

"I was hoping I could talk to you before you took my daughter," he said as he motioned for me to take a seat in one of the still, weathered white rocking chairs on the front porch. I sat down in the creaking seat and blushed when I realized that he wasn't going to be taking a seat. Instead, he stood in front of me, leaning against the rail on the porch, watching me silently. I rocked back and forth gently, listening to the loud sounds of the chair. When I realized just how loud they were, I stopped quickly and fiddled with my hands instead.

"Well, Sirius, as may know, you are the first date that Lora's ever been on," I held in a curious look when I heard this. Mainly because I knew that I was not Lora's first date. She had had her first date when she was in her third year and a Hufflepuff named Garth Baddock had taken her out to Madame Puddifoots. I remember it because she had a horribly boring time and faked sick so that she could come back to the Gryffindor tower and play wizard chess with me all afternoon.

"But I want you to be easy on her," he continued. "She's never done this whole dating thing before so she's a little nervous." Hearing this made me feel a ton better since I now knew that I was not the only one nervous about tonight.

I nodded and stood up, turning towards the door when I felt a large hand clamp down on my arm. I turned, surprised by this restraint, and saw her dad pulling me back.

"There's one more thing Sirius," he said to me, lowering his eye sight to the ground. I could see him blushing and I knew now where Lora got her blush from. I stood there rather awkwardly though, waiting for him to continue.

"I don't know what you're thinking tonight will…end with, but let me just tell you that if you are expecting her to…put out in any sort of way, then you are sadly mistaken, Sirius," he said, rushing his words together at the end. I could hear the threat behind his voice as I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. Lora's dad was trying to talk to me about _sex_?!

"Oh, no sir. All that I plan on happening tonight is me taking Lora out to a nice restaurant for dinner. Then I'm bringing her right back here, sir," I said quickly, my face reddening even more, if possible. He nodded and began walking towards the door. I followed his lead. As I stepped over the threshold, I saw Lily walking down the stairs. She was giggling about something and a little bit of nervousness made its way back into me.

"Hello Sirius," she said as she smiled at me. I greeted her and turned my attention back to the stairs. And then I saw her.

Lora looked the most gorgeous I have ever seen her look.

Her hair was in big, bouncy curls around her shoulders, each curls shininess rivaling her eyes. Lora's big, blue eyes matched her dress, which flowed around her as if it was made for her. It fitted her perfectly in the stomach but flowed out, like water, the farther down it went until it finally stopped at her knees. She held her left hand onto her wrist and bit her lip gently as she looked down at me. Her face was glowing and natural, only maybe a touch of mascara hovering about her eyes. Not that she needed it.

"Hey," she said quietly as she reached the bottom of the stairs, her eyes looking up into mine. I was speechless for a moment, simply pushing the now somewhat crumpled daisies at her. "Thank you, they're lovely," she said, as she accepted them and smiled.

"I'll just go put them in some water," Lily said as she took them and headed for the kitchen. I noticed her shooting a look at Lora's dad, which made him chuckle as he left Lora and I alone in the foyer. He shot me one last warning look before he left.

"Sorry about him. I swear he thinks I'm just going to run off and get myself pregnant with some random dude one of these days," she said, looking down at her fidgeting hands with a small laugh.

"Don't worry about," I replied, still kind of awe struck at how gorgeous she looked. "You look stunning Lora."

She looked back up at me, her eyes still shining, and smiled. I swear I thought my heart was just going to explode in that second. "Thanks, you look great too," she said, smiling even bigger as she looked me up and down. We both laughed nervously.

"Well, uh, you ready to go?" I asked, reaching for the door handle. She nodded and held onto my arm as we crossed over the threshold together. We made our way down to the bike slowly, savoring each second of the moonlit yard, which was shadowed with the leaves shade. When we finally reached the bike, she let go of my arm and let me help her onto the back. I set my helmet on top of her head gently and climbed onto the front as she buckled the helmet on. As I started up the engine again, I felt her arms slide around my waist and clutch together. I smiled as she leaned in close and rested her chin on my shoulder.

It didn't take long to get to the restaurant and before I knew it, Lora was letting go of me and climbing off my bike. Her hair was still perfectly bouncy as she pulled off the helmet and walked with me towards the fancy entrance. When we emerged into the building, the first thing we both saw were strands of lights…thousands of them. All of the lights were about the size of the ones that you put on Christmas trees and they were hung all over the restaurant, overlapping in mid air over tables.

"Woah," I heard Lora mutter. Right when she said that, a tall, slim man in a chic black turtleneck made his way over to us.

"Welcome to zee Garden," he said in a thick French accident. "Do you have a rezervation?"

"Uh, yes," I replied, the lights in the place now burning my retinas a little.

"Well, what eez your name Monsieur?" he said, his voice getting annoyed at my slowness.

"Oh, my name eez, I mean is, Sirius Black," I said, ready to just sit down and eat already. I could feel Lora fidgeting by my side. "I'll be right back, I'm going to the restroom," she whispered in my ear. I nodded and watched her head toward a hallway.

"What did you zay your name waz ageen?" he asked me, without looking up, as he flicked through a large, old, tan book. His brows her pinched together as if he was concentrating on something.

"Er, Sirius Black," I answered, curious as to what the hold up was. There was another couple behind me, waiting eagerly for their turn to be seated.

"You must be miztaken Monsieur, zere eez no _Ziriuz Black_ in zees book," he answered, sneering at me.

"Well I think I would know my own name. Now why don't you just check again and find my reservation so me and my girl can sit down and eat dinner," I replied, glaring at him. I was getting annoyed that they couldn't find my reservation and when Lora got back, I wanted for us to be able and sit down and eat.

The French man gave me a cutting look and muttered something in French under his breath before turning back to the old book that sat on the wooden podium. He flipped through each page, scouring the names for my reservation.

"Nope. No Ziriuz Black leested. Monsieur désolé," he said, smiling mockingly at me. I let my temper take over then.

"Okay look, I made a reservation for two tonight under the name Sirius Black. I even got a confirmation letter confirming me that I had a reservation tonight-"

"Well do you have eet with you Monsieur?"

"No but-"

"Well zen I cannot let you and your leetle friend inzide to eat," he said, now motioning me toward the door. I didn't move though.

"I made a reservation," I growled at him. I felt a small hand rest on my arm and I looked down to see Lora by my side. She looked up at me with a slightly worried expression.

"Is everything okay here?" she asked the man sweetly.

"No, everyzing eez not okay," he replied annoyed. "Your leetle _boyfriend_ here does not have a rezervation."

"Are you sure?" Lor asked him, unmoved by the man stating I was her boyfriend.

"I have never been so sure een my life, Mademoiselle," he bit back, clearly getting annoyed by us.

"Well, could you possibly check again? Maybe you just missed it-"

"Out! Out of this restaurant right this eenstant!" he yelled at us, pointing his fore finger at the door. At this point we had the whole restaurants attention. The couple behind me scooted as close to the wall as possible as Lora and I exited the restaurant, but not before I cut a glaring look at the rude man.

Once we got out onto the quiet street, I realized that there went our dinner. I didn't have a reservation for anywhere else and no decent restaurant would take us last minute.

"Hey, sorry about all of that," I muttered to Lora. When she didn't reply I glanced over at her and saw that she was going through a fit of laughter. Clutching her stomach, she tried to stop her laughter but she couldn't. Soon enough, we were both weak with laughter.

After a few more minutes of laughing, we both sat back down on my bike. "Sirius, don't worry about it. That place was burning my eyes anyway," she replied smiling as she wiped a tear away that had been clinging onto the side of her eye. We both chuckled at this and she told me to get on the back of the bike.

"Why?" I asked as she sat in front.

"I'm going to drive it silly," she responded, pulling the helmet back on top of her curls.

"You're kidding right? You can barely manage a broom. I doubt you can drive a motorcycle that's twice your size."

"Then help me drive it, Sirius," she said, her eyes daring me to say yes.

"Fine," I replied, giving in, "but you have to let me take the handlebars, okay?" She nodded and let me slide my arm by her to put in the key. Once the bike roared to life, I took hold of it and let her push up off the ground.

We rode in the air for a while, not bothering to talk but just enjoying each others presence. I was waiting for her to tell me where to land the bike but she just looked around at the landscape below us, smiling to herself. Occasionally she would look upwards towards the star soaked skies.

After what seemed like hours of just the two of us riding through the sky, not that I mind, she finally motioned for me to land. Much to my surprise, we stopped on a deserted road in the middle of the woods.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Almost there. Now just keep driving straight," she replied, leaning back onto my chest and setting her head in the nook of my neck. I nodded and kept driving, making sure to remind myself to breathe.

"Pull in here," she said after a few minutes. I veered to the left and pulled into a parking lot that was merely lit by a single post lamp and the neon lights that emanated from the small building. Two big golden arches were sitting on an 'Enter' sign near the edge of the road. "Pull around through the drive through." I did as I was told and stopped at a big board with a little red box next to it.

"Welcome to McDonalds. What can I get you today?" I bored voice crackled in the air. I looked around for who ever was speaking, which only made Lora laugh.

"Do you like cheeseburgers?" Lora asked me, turning to do so. I nodded, still wondering who was out there. Much to my surprise though, she leaned toward the box and responded loudly, "Two number sevens, please."

"Is that where the voice came from?" I asked her, shocked. She nodded and giggled a little.

"What would you like to drink with that?" the voice asked, returning once again. This time I could tell that it came from the box.

"Um, do you like Coke?" she asked me, turning once again.

"What's that?" I asked, furrowing my brows together. She smiled and turned back towards the box.

"Two cokes," she replied. I smiled at her as the voice told her the price of our little meal.

"Oh shoot. I don't have any Muggle money," she said quietly as I pulled forward.

A bored looking girl, who had her dirty blonde hair piled into a bun on the top of her head and her McDonalds employee shirt unbuttoned to the point where the drive-thru was probably not a family area, glanced up at us as we drove forward. Her eyes widened when she saw me and a small smile formed on her face.

"Let me take care of this," I whispered in Lora's ear. She looked at me curiously but shrugged it off.

"Here's your food," the girl said as she handed a white bag to us. I grabbed it and winked at her. She repeated the price to Lora, with a rather harsh undertone to her voice, and returned her attention to me.

"Oh man, I'm _really_ but I seem to have forgotten my money," I said to the girl. She let her eyes become sympathetic and said, "Oh, don't worry about it. It's on the house!" I thanked her and we drove off. I could hear Lora laughing in my ear.

I pulled us over to an old picnic table and turned off the bike. I helped Lor climb off and we both sat down and began peeling off the foil that was wrapped around our burgers. We ate in silence for a few moments before she turned to me. Every once in a while one of us would make a remark like 'the burgers good' or 'the Coke is all fizzy' but mainly we just sat in silence.

I looked over at her as I finished chewing my burger and saw that she was already done and was wadding up her foil and putting it back into the bag. She looked over at me and smiled as I did the same with my burgers wrapping. All of a sudden though, she just leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. Warmth immediately spread over my face as I saw there smiling like and idiot.

"Come on, Dad will be wondering where I am if we stay out any later," she said as she stood up and walked the bag over to a trash can. When she walked back over to the bike, she had a big smile on her face as she slid behind me on the motorcycle.

I drove her home in silence, still thinking about the kiss. Time seemed to fly by just as we were through the dark blue sky, only the stars to light our way.

I pulled into her drive way once again, turning the engine off leaving the bare quiet to consume the house-filled street once more. I took her hand as she climbed off of the bike, leaving my shiny black helmet hanging on my handlebars. I didn't drop her hand as we made our way to the front porch. She walked to other side of the porch than where I was earlier, taking a seat on the swinging chair that was mounted from the ceiling of the porch. She patted the empty part of the seat next to her, and once more I was being motioned towards. I sat down, feeling the swing move from my presence, and rested my arm around her shoulder.

"Thank you for tonight Sirius. I had an amazing time," she said softly as she looked over at me.

"Thanks for coming. And I'm glad you had a good time. I did too," I replied gently, rubbing her bare shoulder with my thumb. Her blue eyes shined brightly at me, beckoning me forward.

"Sirius?" she asked as I leaned in an inch.

"Yes?"

"Why did it take you so long?" she asked, looking away towards the empty street, only lit by magical streetlights.

"What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled by her sudden question.

"I mean, have you just recently had the idea to date me or have those feelings been there for…longer than that?" she asked, looking up at me again with such intensity that I couldn't look away.

"I've been interested in you for a while now, Lor. I was just…nervous that maybe you wouldn't like me back. And I didn't want to be hurt by hearing that you didn't like me," I confessed to her. A small smile crept upon her face as she leaned forward to me, resting her hand on my chest.

"How could any girl ever resist you Sirius?" she asked as she pressed her lips gently to mine. I kissed her back, my heart pounding so loudly that I was sure that she could hear it. I let my hand slide to her back and she pressed herself closer to me.

We kissed for a while. Then I walked her back inside and bid her and her father, who was waiting on the couch, goodnight.

As I climbed back onto my bike and headed back towards the Potter's, I realized that even though her dad had to have a sex talk with me, even though the stupid man at the restaurant couldn't find our reservation, and even though I looked like a complete idiot in this tux while she looked drop dead gorgeous, tonight was still the best night of my life.


	34. Chapter 33

Ch

Ch.33: Fat Free Perfection, Angry Tomatoes, and A New Girlfriend

"Thank you for tonight Sirius. I had an amazing time," she said softly as she looked over at me.

"Thanks for coming. And I'm glad you had a good time. I did too," I replied gently, rubbing her bare shoulder with my thumb. Her blue eyes shined brightly at me, beckoning me forward.

"Sirius?" she asked as I leaned in an inch.

"Yes?"

"Why did it take you so long?" she asked, looking away towards the empty street, only lit by magical streetlights.

"What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled by her sudden question.

"I mean, have you just recently had the idea to date me or have those feelings been there for…longer than that?" she asked, looking up at me again with such intensity that I couldn't look away.

"I've been interested in you for a while now, Lor. I was just…nervous that maybe you wouldn't like me back. And I didn't want to be hurt by hearing that you didn't like me," I confessed to her. A small smile crept upon her face as she leaned forward to me, resting her hand on my chest.

"How could any girl ever resist you Sirius?" she asked as she pressed her lips gently to mine. I kissed her back, my heart pounding so loudly that I was sure that she could hear it. I let my hand slide to her back and she pressed herself closer to me.

We kissed for a while. Then I walked her back inside and bid her and her father, who was waiting on the couch, goodnight.

As I climbed back onto my bike and headed back towards the Potter's, I realized that even though her dad had to have a sex talk with me, even though the stupid man at the restaurant couldn't find our reservation, and even though I looked like a complete idiot in this tux while she looked drop dead gorgeous, tonight was still the best night of my life.

-33-

"Are you gonna eat that?" James asked as he leaned toward me, reaching for a piece of bacon. I quickly swatted his hand away and tossed the bacon into my mouth quickly. He stuck his tongue out at me as he took a sip of orange juice.

I rolled my eyes and looked out at the empty street a few yards away from us. The heat from the sun beating down on the black, smooth pavement was causing a water-like effect to hover over the road, blurring it in my eyes. I could still see what was left of the egg yolk that we had cracked on the black turf, its liquid-y residue shining slightly in the sun's sight. Our little experiment from earlier had obviously not worked (James' mum told us that it was so hot that we could fry an egg on the street. She was wrong. It just got all sticky and it smelled kind of funny.)

The trees around us waved gently in the wind as it breezed by, cooling them down from the treacherous heat waves. There were scarce birds out, but even they were hiding in the cool shade of their home trees. I listened to their chirping conversations, thinking of my own recent conversations as I did so.

Like my recent conversation with Lora, which had been played over so many times in my head lately that it had become embedded there, even when I wasn't thinking of her.

Though those moments were rare.

We had been in my room at the Potters (which was technically also James' room since we shared a room) and I had been in there showing Lor the new motorcycle magazine I had gotten (though she was clearly not interested at all, which is probably why we just ended up snogging.)

Anyway, we were kissing and talking when she asked me if she was my girlfriend. I honestly had no clue what to tell her because I had kind of been wondering the same thing. I mean, we were definitely exclusive to only each other and we kissed and hung out all the time but I hadn't actually asked her to be mine yet. I knew she would say yes but I just hadn't asked her…I don't really know why. But that's why I was planning on asking her today.

"Can I have your muffin?" I asked James, my growling stomach knocking me out of my trance. He looked over at me, putting on an overly dramatic look of surprise, and raised his eyebrow. He opened his mouth and lifted his left hand to his chest.

"Siri-poo, if I remember correctly, I asked you for a piece of bacon not even five minutes ago!" I sighed and rolled my eyes at my friend's dramatic antics. "And now you're asking me for this delectable, soft, warm, blueberry and perfection packed muffin? I don't think so mister."

"Your muffin has blueberries and perfection in it?" I asked, looking down at my own pitiful muffin.

"But of course," he replied smugly.

"Oh. I heard perfection was fattening."

"Not this perfection," Prongs replied, struggling to come up with something. "This perfection is fat free."

"Are you sure?" I asked, now raising my eyebrow.

"I am positive. I know it definitely has more perfection than your muffin. You know how much your muffin has? None!" he laughed, not waiting for me to answer his question. I chuckled to myself as he rolled over onto the grass, laughing loudly.

"Nice James. Well, my muffin has bits of strawberries and nuts in it so I think that that's ten times better than your little piece of blueberry and perfection crap," I retorted, holding up my muffin. His laughter stopped as he glanced my muffin up and down, his eyes getting greedy. I knew James was a sucker for-

"Nuts? It has nuts? _And_ strawberries? Huh…" he quietly said to himself. I looked down at his now feeble muffin and then back up at mine. He went back and forth like this, debating in his head over which was better: blueberry and fat-free perfection or nuts and strawberries.

He tossed his muffin aside to me and lunged for the muffin in my hand greedily. Before I could even hand it over to him, he snatched it and shoved it in his mouth. A look of pure contentment swept over his face as he enjoyed the strawberry and nutty goodness that awaited him inside of the muffin. As he pushed the last piece into his mouth, I couldn't hold back my laughter anymore. I guess it caught onto him too because before we knew it we were both rolling in the grass laughing.

"What are you two doing here?!" an angry voice yelled to us. Our laughter flickered out like a flame immediately as Mr. Clense and his shiny head made his way over to us. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him chrome dome though as it shined in the suns-

"We're eating," James said slowly, like Lora's dad was a wanker or something. I muffled my laughter as best as I could but I guess it wasn't good enough seeing as Mr. Clense shot me a glare. I quickly quieted down.

"Obviously you are eating Mr. Potter but why are you eating in my front lawn?" he asked, growing more and more irritated by the second. I wasn't surprised to see that he was so mad. I think he's always mad in the morning, like Lora's always grumpy when she has to wake up. Like the time that I climbed up the tree next to Lora's room and climbed in through her window. When he came in to tell her breakfast was ready, he was really mad. Or the time when he came into the bathroom to take a shower and found me brushing my teeth (well, I didn't want to have morning breath for Lor). He was pretty mad then too. So I wasn't surprised he was mad now because it was still so early.

"Well we saw that you two were asleep and we didn't want to wake you up," I answered, hoping to score some points with him for being considerate of his and Lora's sleeping. I guess that didn't work though because he just looked angrier than before.

"What do you mean you saw we were asleep?" he asked, his voice near shouting. I glanced over James and saw that he was laughing so hard that his laughs weren't even making noises. I didn't think it was so funny that my kind-of-girlfriend's father was yelling at me though.

"Well, when we went in to get some breakfast I went up to see if either of you wanted something to eat but you two were asleep so we just made breakfast and came out here to eat it so that we wouldn't make any noise and wake either of you up," I replied quickly and about as feebly as that muffin I had had earlier that was now digesting slowly in James' stomach.

His face began to turn red, including his shiny head which kind of freaked me out a bit seeing as it looked like his head was turning into a giant tomato.

"You mean you and Mr. Potter _broke_ into my house while my daughter and I were _asleep_ and made yourselves some _breakfast_?!" he yelled, garnering some attention from a few of the neighbors who had come outside to see what was causing all of the commotion so early in the morning.

"Uh, yeah," I answered half-heartedly, realizing that maybe it wasn't just the morning that was making him a little fussy.

"What is wrong with you?!" he yelled. When I tried to answer him though, I saw Lora leaning out of the front door in her nightdress, staring at the scene taking stage in her front yard.

"Dad! Sirius? James?" she yelled, going from embarrassed and angry to just confused. She gave me a small wave and smile before returning her attention back to her veggie (or fruit. There's controversy over what a tomato should be classified as) like father.

"Lora, I don't want you talking to either of them!" he shouted angrily. A little bit of purple and blue was getting mixed in with the red of his head and it took me a moment to realize that those were his veins.

"Uh, just hold on one minute," I said to him, putting up my pointer finger as I climbed to my feet and rushed over to his daughter. He just let his mouth hang open as he watched me stride over to Lor.

She was a few steps up from me and still hiding somewhat behind the door. She flashed me a smile as I climbed up the steps and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and hug.

"What are you doing here Sirius?" she asked me quietly as she settled her bright blue eyes on me. I couldn't hold back a big smile.

"Well-"

"Just ask her to be your girlfriend you wanker!" I heard James yell from the front lawn. She laughed quietly, not taking her eyes off of me.

"So Lor, you wanna be my girlfriend?" I asked, chuckling a little as I waited for her answer.

"Of course," she said, smiling a big, brighter-than-ever smile for me.

"No! Get away from my house and off of my property!" her dad yelled as he strode over to us. I gave her a big kiss on the lips before I winked and headed away from the house quickly before her dad could get me. James was already on the motorcycle, waiting for me. As I rushed by our little picnic area, I grabbed the last piece of bacon off of the paper plate and ran over to the motorcycle.

"For the road!" I hollered to her as I climbed on, put on my helmet, and revved the bike to life. I gave her one more wink as we headed off loudly down the heat-stricken road.


End file.
